


Who Finds You When You're Lost?

by TheCartoonAddict927



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout 4
Genre: Eventual Romance, Friends in love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Little Lamplight, Love Triangle, Minutemen, Multi, Orphans, The Brotherhood of Steel-Fallout, The Commonwealth, The Institute-Fallout, The Railroad, Video Game, life story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 20:19:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 46
Words: 150,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11997228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCartoonAddict927/pseuds/TheCartoonAddict927
Summary: (Takes place within the time of Fallout 3 and Fallout 4)After getting separated from her family, Juliet Weathers stumbles upon the settlement of "Little Lamplight" where she meets many other lost kids just like her,One being the settlement's mayor/mungo-enthusiast Mayor MacCready...they soon hit it off and become close friends.  Watch as they and the others struggle to overcome the challenges that lie ahead in The Capital Wasteland and grow up to take on The Commonwealth as it all leads up to the big fight against the Institute and beyond...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fallout story so I hope you all like it ^^;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm new to this so I hope you all like it ^^ I know the prologue's a bit boring but the story WILL get better ;)

Juliet panted and wheezed as she ran through the large landscape known as the Capital Wasteland. The nine year old girl was scared out of her wits at the noises all around her and the fact that it was nighttime and she was all alone. She continued to run and run until she was out of breath and her legs couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed on the ground exhausted trying to catch her breath, she looked around, the surrounding area was dark and quiet with the exception of a few creatures scurrying across the ground. Juliet then just curled up into a fetal position. She was so tired for she had been running for hours. She had barely escaped, they had almost gotten her but she managed to make it out alive. 

...If only she could’ve said the same for her parents. 

Juliet had a pretty good life in the Capital Wasteland, she had a roof over her head, loving parents, food in her stomach, she and her family were most certainly better off than some of the other families that they had seen around sometimes. Some would even come to their old ruined house (if you could even call it a house) begging them for food and shelter. Of course her parents would always help those in need, they taught her that if you always have a good heart and give to others, then they will give back to you. 

Unfortunately that good life didn’t last. For the night before, the house was attacked by feral ghouls. Her mom held her close while her dad barricaded all of the doors and windows hoping that it would be enough...but it wasn’t...the ghouls were just too strong and there was no way to kill them all. When they busted in, her parents tried to fight them off with a lot of household objects. They told Juliet to run out of the house and to just keep running, and to not look back not even for a minute. She obeyed and ran out the back door and just ran for as long and far as her nine year old legs could carry her. Some of the ghouls saw her and chased her away from the house but thankfully she outran them. She had always been kind of a fast runner so it wasn't a problem. 

...Which leads her to now...

As the memories of her presumably deceased parents flashed through her mind, Juliet began to sob and hugged her knees closer to her chest and brushed a strand of blonde hair back breathing in shaky breaths. She really wished they were right there with her at that moment, holding her, telling her that everything was okay...She wanted to go back and make sure they were safe, but she knew that she couldn’t go back...they told her to run, run far away and to not look back in case they didn’t make it. She feared for them, worried that the ferals most likely devoured them. She had been running all day only stopping to rest every so often. But she didn’t know what to do now. She had never felt so lost. Suddenly, the sounds of distant yelling and gunshots rung throughout the area startled her and sent her running again. She sprinted for a few more minutes until she tripped on a tree root and landed flat on her hands and knees. 

She began to cry again, “What do I do?” She asked herself, “What do I do?”


	2. Who Finds You When You're Lost? Chapter 1: "Little Lamplight"

Juliet was lost, she was so helplessly lost. But she instantly stopped crying when she saw a small shack nearby. Intrigued, Juliet walked over to the shack and opened the old door making it creak loudly after not being opened for what she only assumed was years. She stepped inside and looked around, there were a few shelves and garbage everywhere but besides that there was nothing. Juliet exited the shack closing the door behind her and then noticed that there was a large cave next to the shack. 

“Huh?” Juliet said to herself raising an eyebrow, she then looked around still hearing gunshots ringing through the night which scared her again. She looked back at the cave, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to rest in the cave for the night, she should at least get some shut eye. She went deeper into the cave. It was dark for a minute but it then got light again. She looked up and what she saw amazed her. There were white lights like ones you would put on a Christmas tree were strung up all over the rocky ceiling of the cave, she looked ahead of her, the lights seem to go deeper into the cave. Being the curious nine year old she was, she followed the string of lights as she progressed deeper and deeper into the large cavern. Eventually the lights stopped at a wooden door. She reached out to grab the doorknob but pulled her hand back in hesitation. Should she do this? What if it wasn’t safe? What if she opened the door and a bunch of raiders would jump out and kill her? She had seen what raiders did to people like her and she hoped she would never suffer that kind of fate. 

...But what if the people in there could help her…? 

Gasping she grabbed the doorknob and turned it opening the door. The door swung open to reveal a large open space where the lights still shone on the ceiling. Juliet gawked in wonder at the lights again as she entered the large space but was snapped out of it when she felt her body collide with something. She looked down to see it was an arrow sign pointing in the direction in which she came. She struggled to make out the word on the sign. 

“...Mungoland?” She said confused, then she heard two voices arguing. She looked up to see two kids at the lookout post. They both looked about her age, one had brown hair that was shaved down while the other had scruffy brown hair. Juliet was surprised to see that they were both bearing guns. Minus the weapons they seemed friendly, Juliet decided to approach them. 

“Dude, I’m telling ‘ya, I really saw a “Glowing One” outside the cave today!” The boy with the messy hair said, “No way man! Normal ferals hardly ever come around here let alone a “Glowing One”!” The shaved brunette replied folding his arms across his chest, “It’s the truth!” The scruffy brunnette retaliated offended, “Pfft! You’re such a liar!” Shaved scoffed, “I AM NOT!” Scruffy yelled, 

“Um, excuse me?” Juliet spoke up softly after clearing her throat. Both boys looked around confused for a second wondering where the voice was coming from. They finally looked down and saw Juliet looking back up at them. 

“Heh, hi.” Juliet smiled sheepishly and waved, “Who are you?” Scruffy asked her giving her the stink-eye, “I’m Juliet, what is this place?” She asked, 

“This is “Little Lamplight”, it’s a settlement that’s only for kids because we don’t trust adults. Why are you here?” He demanded, 

“Well, I got separated from my parents and I had nowhere else to go. I found this cave and I was hoping I could rest my head here...at least until I can find my family again…” Juliet said politely, both kid guards looked at each other unsure of whether or not to trust her then looked back to her. 

“You said you got separated from your family?” Shaved asked her, Juliet nodded, “Yes.” She replied, “Sorry, we can’t help you.” Shaved told her abruptly, “You have to be alone to get in.” Scruffy continued, 

“Oh please,” She begged, “Please, you’ve got to help me. I’ve been on my own for the past day and I’m far from home and I’m just so tired and scared and I don’t know where else to go!” She began to cry for the third time today, “...Please…” 

Suddenly both kid guards’ looks softened, “Maybe we should let her in.” Scruffy, whispered, “Dude! You know we can’t do that!” Shaved head yelled out loud, “But look at her! She’s making me feel guilty!” Scruffy replied, “But you know that letting her in isn’t up to us! If HE finds out that we let a complete stranger in, he’ll kill us!” Shaved exaggerated, 

“Um..guys?” Juliet interrupted again, they looked to her again and then back at each other again. Shaved head looked to scruffy unsure but Scruffy just gave him a nod telling him to trust him. Shaved head just sighed and pulled the lever opening the large gate. Juliet began to smile and the two kids came down through the gate. 

“Alright, we’ll let you in.” Shaved head said defeated, Scruffy just smiled and offered her his hand. “Come on, don’t worry, it’ll be okay.” He assured her, Juliet was hesitant to take his hand but then she did and they led her inside. 

As they walked through the settlement Juliet took the opportunity to look around. The settlement itself was large and spacious and there were kids running around everywhere. They were all dirty and had messy hair and clothes. Juliet was slightly uncomfortable by this but felt better when Scruffy patted her hand and gave her a smile. 

“By the way, what are your names?” Juliet asked, “I’m Sammy.” The scruffy-haired boy said, “I’m Squirrel.” The boy with the shaved head said, “Nice to meet you…” 

“Thanks for letting me in, you guys...” Juliet said thankfully, “Don’t thank us yet…first you gotta get permission from “The Mayor”...” Sammy said, Juliet suddenly felt afraid again. “The Mayor”? That sounded like someone really scary, eventually they reached a staircase and went up it. When they got upstairs they reached a room that had a bed and a ceiling light that was on. The room had a good view of the entire settlement. Looking out the window was another kid Juliet’s age. They wore old green army fatigues with a white scarf that went around their head and a dirty army helmet to match the clothes, they also had a gun just like the other two. They had their back turned to the three of them. Juliet then noticed Sammy’s grip on her hand tightened and he hid her behind him as if to protect her. Both boys were hesitant to speak up to the other kid. Until finally Squirrel mustered up enough courage to speak up. 

“...Mayor MacCready…” Was all he said, the kid turned to face them, he just stared at them with his blue eyes. 

Juliet just stared at the young kid mayor from behind Sammy in fascination. How could someone their age lead a whole settlement? As she continued to stare at him she felt her slight fear of him cease and in it’s place came a feeling that felt...familiar and kind of comforting. 

‘Huh, maybe he’s not so bad after all…’ Juliet thought smiling, 

“Sammy! Squirrel! What is the meaning of this!? Why aren’t you two at your post!?” The kid snapped at them, his voice still sounded like a kid’s, not quite starting puberty but not like a five year old’s both boys jumped at their leader’s sudden outburst and started shaking in fear. 

‘I stand corrected.’ Juliet thought,

“For...Forgive us, Mayor...But we have a new arrival, sir…” The kid known as MacCready just blinked once in surprise. A new arrival? They hadn’t had one of those for a while. 

“What do you mean we have a new arrival?” He asked trying to sound intimidating again, “We-we found a kid a-at the gate. Th-They were lost and tired and they want in because they need a place to rest for awhile.” Sammy stammered, 

“Where is the new arrival?” He asked them, Sammy stepped off to the side to reveal Juliet to him. Juliet didn’t know what to do or what to say, she had never been really good at talking when put in the spotlight. She gave the young mayor another sheepish smile and wave like the one she gave Sammy and Squirrel. 

“Uh...hi…” She said shyly, MacCready looked her over suspiciously as if she were some kind of spy or something. 

“State your business, stranger.” He said seriously, Juliet didn’t reply, she just stared at him wide-eyed. 

“I said, “State your business, stranger”...don’t make me repeat myself again…” He said Juliet was nervous for a moment but then cleared her throat. “Um...I lost my family...we got separated and now I don’t know where to find them...But I’m so far away from home and I don’t think I can make a trip back there tonight…..So I was hoping if I could please stay the night…or at least until I find them...” She explained, MacCready didn’t say anything, he just gave her an odd look all the while sizing her up and down. Worried that he would go into another one of his outbursts, Sammy and Squirrel decided to jump in. 

“Sir, we tried to keep her out, we tried to tell her that it was against your rules to let strangers in but we-.” He shut up when MacCready shot him a glare. “Quiet.” He said threateningly, Squirrel obeyed without any argument. Apparently his cold blue eyes could pierce through anyone’s soul Juliet realized. He then turned his attention back to Juliet. “So...you want to join “Little Lamplight”, huh?” He asked her, Juliet nodded nervously, “Y...Yeah, j-just for a little while though, until I can find my family it would be nice to have a roof over my head, even if it’s a rocky one…” She said laughing a little, she stopped laughing when she noticed he wasn’t laughing. 

“Uh...so...am I in?” She asked, he just continued to look her over which made Juliet a little uncomfortable. He circled around her as if he were trying to get every last detail of her. Finally he spoke up again. 

“That depends...How old are you?” He asked, “Nine…” Juliet replied, “Okay, so you’re not a mungo...Do you work for anyone?” He asked again, “N..no.” She answered again, she was so uncomfortable and slightly intimidated by this other kid. She was now looking at the ground while answering his questions. 

“What happened to your parents?” He asked her, Juliet looked up. “What?” She asked, “What happened to your parents? Were you separated from them? Did they just abandon you?” He asked, 

Juliet felt her throat tighten as she thought back on what had happened to them. Her poor parents, fighting for their lives as feral ghouls attacked their house. It was still too painful. She began to tear up which caught MacCready’s attention. 

“Are...are you crying?” He asked her surprisingly without sounding intimidating, Juliet wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her worn out blue jacket and sniffled. “I’m so sorry, this is really embarrassing to cry in front of you. But it’s just so painful to say...It was so scary…” She whimpered. 

The kid mayor watched her cry in surprise. He didn’t mean to make her cry, he just wanted the truth. Seeing Juliet cry made him feel pity for her. He patted her shoulder. 

“It’s fine...you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…” He told her, she looked up at him again. “I don’t?” She said, “Yeah.” He nodded, he then looked to Sammy and Squirrel who were staring at him in shock. Mayor MacCready being nice for once!? He realized that the kind gesture made him look like a push over in front of the others, he had to cover it up and fast. 

“Yeah, because I don’t care enough to hear your sob story, girl.” He said suddenly acting like a mean kid again, “So, can I stay?” Juliet asked, 

“Yeah, you can stay, just don’t piss me off.” He warned her, Juliet giggled, “I promise.” 

“What? You think I'm kidding? I'm serious, little girl! If you piss me off, you're out.” He warned her again, Juliet nodded, “Understood.” She said, he nodded back, he then did the honorable thing and shook her hand. “I’m Mayor MacCready...Welcome to “Little Lamplight”...” He told her, 

Juliet now smiled bright, “Thank you, my name is Juliet Weathers, but you can call me Jules or Julie if you want.” She said, MacCready just waved her off, “Juliet’s fine.” He said shrugging, just then a girl with tan skin and black hair came into the room. “Penny, show our new member where she’ll be sleeping.” He ordered, the girl known as Penny nodded. “Yes Mayor MacCready.” She then grabbed Juliet’s arm and pulled her out of the room. “Come on!” She said encouragingly, MacCready went back to looking over the settlement but then noticed that Sammy and Squirrel were still there staring at him. 

“What are you two bozos looking at!? Get back to manning the gate!” He ordered, both boys saluted him. “Sir! Yes sir!” They both said scrambling, the kid mayor then groaned and ran a hand under his hat to smooth back his brown hair. 

“So you're the new girl, huh? Oh you're going to love “Little Lamplight”! I promise!” Penny said to Juliet eagerly as hurried across the settlement, “So what’s your name?” Juliet asked, “I’m Penny, what's yours?” She asked back, “Juliet.” Juliet smiled, “That's pretty.” Penny complemented, 

“You know, I’m surprised Mayor MacCready let you in at all, he's usually not so easily convinced.” Penny said, “I don't think he's all bad…” Juliet replied, “Yeah, he's a good leader, that's why we chose him in the first place, he's really cool when you're on his good side.” Penny explained, 

A minute later the two young girls reached a door and Penny opened it and flicked on the light. The room had a mattress and a nightstand with a lamp and a really busted up dresser. 

“Here's your room, I know it's a little small…” Penny said apologetically, 

“No no, it's fine.” Juliet assured her, “Thank you.” 

“No problem, just remember that you always have friends here.” Penny smiled with a wink, “I’ll leave you to get settled in.” And with that she closed the door. Juliet looked around the room, she was relieved that she had a roof over her head. She decided that the best thing to do now was get some sleep. She laid her head down on her mattress and closed her eyes and not long after fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Getting Around

Juliet awoke the next morning giving a contented yawn as she sat up and stretched before standing up from her bed. That was a good sleep, after running all night and day after being separated from her parents, finally sleeping made her feel so much better. She opened the door to her room and looked out at the settlement of “Little Lamplight” where only a few kids were running around due to it still being so early in the morning. 

Juliet looked around in wonder. She thought that last night was nothing but a dream...but it wasn't...she was awake. Suddenly Penny who was talking to a few other girls turned and noticed her. A bright smile instantly showed up on her face. 

“Juliet!” She yelled as she ran over, the blonde nine year old smiled back, when Penny reached her the two girls shared a hug. 

“How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?” Penny asked her, Juliet nodded, “I slept okay, thanks.” She replied, “Good to hear. Now, since you're new, you might as well start meeting everyone and finding your way around. Come on!” Penny grabbed Juliet’s arm and lead her to the group of girls that she was with before. One of them had brown hair and a pink dress. The other had red hair in a ponytail with brown eyes and wore a worn out jean jacket and camo pants. 

“Hey girls!” Penny called out, both girls turned to them. “Who's this, Penny?” The redhead asked, 

“This is the new girl I was telling you guys about! You know, the one that came here last night.” Penny replied, “This is Juliet.” She then gestured to the girl in the pink dress. “This is Princess.” Penny then gestured to the redhead. “And this is Scout.” 

“It's really nice to meet you guys.” Juliet waved shyly, 

“Nice to meet you too.” Scout replied, meanwhile, Princess gave her an unsure look. 

“So you're Juliet, huh?” Princess asked her, “That's me!” Juliet smiled, 

“Hmm...Usually Mayor doesn't let anyone into “Little Lamplight” that easily...Normally one has to prove their worth to get in...but he just let you in...how did you do it?” She asked, 

“I didn't really do anything, I just explained my situation and he let me in…” Juliet answered, 

Princess’s look didn't change as she just folded her arms across her chest. “...Right…Well..Welcome to “Little Lamplight”, Juliet.” Princess then shook Juliet’s hand. The blonde nine year old smiled. “Thank you.” She replied, 

“Come on, let’s go.” Penny said dragging her along again, they ran off down one of the tunnels and they passed a building that was in ruin. 

“That's the office building, no one get really goes in there.” Penny explained, 

“Cool.” Juliet said, Penny then turned them around and they ran for the entrance to the settlement. 

“This is the gate, kids come in and out every so often. Mostly when they come back from hunting or scavenging.” Penny told her, Juliet nodded. “Will I have a specific job?” She asked, 

“Yeah, Mayor will assign you to something.” Penny replied, the two then took off running down one of the other tunnels. Juliet was taken aback a little by how fast they were running. 

“Penny, could we maybe slow down?” She asked, “Come on, we're almost there!” Penny urged her, finally they reached a bridge and they stopped. Juliet was amazed to look out over the bridge to see a glorious view of the caverns all around them. There were bridges above and below them and they saw other kids running around and across the bridges. It was a beautiful sight. 

“Whoa! Cool!” Juliet gawked, “Ooh! Let me show you my favorite place in the settlement!” Penny grabbed Juliet’s arm again and pulled, this time they walked. “This way.” She said, they crossed the bridge and went off down a dark tunnel. The darkness seemed to deepen as they went further down which started to terrify Juliet. 

“Uh Penny? Is this really safe?” She asked, Penny didn't say anything, both of them stayed silent but then they saw light up ahead. Juliet was both confused and relieved at the same time. But that confusion turned to amazement when they entered a cavern full of shining blue geodes. Juliet was in awe at the sheer beauty of it. 

“Penny...it's beautiful…” Juliet said, 

“I know. Nobody, not even Mayor knows about this place…” Penny said, “Why don't you tell anyone?” Juliet asked, “Eh, it's peaceful, and I don't want any of the boys coming in here and making noise.” Penny explained, “I mostly like to come here when I want to be alone, or just to think…” She then turned to her. “Now it's your place too.” 

Juliet gasped. “Thank you! But why would you want to share it with me? You hardly know me.” She asked, 

“Because I know you can respect it. I can see straight through you. You're the kind of person who respects the precious things in life. One who knows what's really important. Not a lot of people besides you and me can see that.” Penny said, 

Juliet just smiled. “Thanks Penny.” “Anytime.” Penny winked, the two of them exited out of the cave, back over the bridge, and headed back towards the center of the settlement. On the way there they passed by another huge gate. 

Juliet took notice of it. “Hey Penny, what's that gate?” She asked, Penny looked over and saw the gate as well and the smile on her face disappeared. 

“That's the gate to The Murder Pass. Mayor never lets us go back there. He says it's too dangerous.” Penny explained, Juliet didn't say anything and just looked back at the gate curious of what was back there. 

Eventually they reached the middle of the settlement again. Since it was a little later on in the day, there were a lot more kids out. 

“Well that's all there really is to show you. What do you think?” Penny asked, 

Juliet just smiled her signature smile. “It's amazing. I can't believe other kids like me made all of this!” She said as she looked around marveling the large cave yet again. “I think I'm gonna like it here.” 

“I'm glad.” Penny said, 

“Penny.” A familiar voice said, both girls jumped and whirled around to see MacCready standing there behind them. 

“Oh! Mayor! Uh..hey!” She said nervously, Juliet just looked at her and then to him. 

“Showing our new member around?” He asked, 

“Y-Yeah! I thought that since she's new she should know her way around. Wouldn't want her getting lost.” Penny nodded, the kid mayor didn't say anything for a minute. Suddenly he gave a small smile to Penny. “Good work, she should know her way around by now.” He looked to Juliet. “What do you think?” He asked her, 

“I love it.” Juliet replied, he just gave her a nod and looked back to Penny. “I'll take it from here, Penny.” He assured her, 

“Okay, RJ!” She said, she then walked away. 

“RJ?” Juliet said confused, MacCready looked at her again. “Oh, yeah, that's my name.” He explained, “It's what people call me sometimes.” 

“What does it stand for?” She asked curiously, 

“None of your business.” He said a little harsh, Juliet just giggled not taking any offense to his tone, he then took her hand. “Come with me.” 

“Where are we going?” Juliet asked, “I’m going to show you what your job will be.” He answered, “Okay.” Juliet nodded, he led her outside the gate and out of the cave. 

“You're going to be a scavenger.” He told her, “You will go out and try to find stuff. Scrap, weapons, food, whatever you think would benefit “Little Lamplight”. 

“Oh! Sure! I can do that! Sounds easy enough.” Juliet said, 

“Yeah but you also gotta be careful...I'm sure you know this already but I’m telling you anyway in case you don't. The Wasteland is full of dangerous people, raiders, ghouls...Super Mutants…” He shuddered when he said Super Mutants, “They WILL try to kill you. So you gotta be fast and be smart.” He told her, 

“Okay.” Juliet replied, 

“And if see something you like from your searching, you can take an item or two from what you find.” He added, then they saw the large gate open and two other kids, one a boy and one a girl, enter the settlement carrying bags and two boys ran down from the guard post. 

“I gotta go man the gate, it's my shift.” He told her, he turned his back to her and walked away. 

Juliet smiled as she looked back at the still open gate to “Little Lamplight”. 

“Hmph, I think I'm gonna like it here.” She said,


	4. Chapter 3: Possibly Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't played much Fallout 3 so I don't know what they didn't include in Fallout 3 that they did include in Fallout 4...So I’m mashing both games together, some of the models of power armour and guns and other stuff that we see in Fallout 4 will appear in this story despite it currently taking place in Fallout 3 because the story will have Fallout 4’s storyline later on. Okay enjoy the chapter! ;)

Juliet grumbled as she searched through the garbage. She had been a scavenger for a few weeks now and so far she was loving her job. It wasn't half bad, she was bringing a lot of resources to the settlement and it was interesting to travel to new places in the Capital Wasteland, and so far she's found some really useful junk. Sure she had to dodge a few enemies here and there, but she was rather sneaky so it wasn't much of a problem. What made it even better was that she was able to take an item or two from her findings for herself, which she thought was cool. 

Suddenly she noticed a few shiny objects on the ground and went to pick them up. She was happy to discover that they were bottlecaps.

“Cool, we could use these.” She said aloud, she put them in her pocket and continued onward. 

After a while she stopped once again as she stumbled upon the ruins of what was once a house. She entered the deserted place and looked around. The living area and the kitchen were a mess and the second floor had collapsed therefore granting her a way upstairs. She went up the collapsed portion of the upper floor and reached the second floor. She knew that where she was standing was once a hallway with many doors that led to different rooms. But now all of the doors were blocked with wreckage and some of the walls collapsed as well. Juliet went down the hall to the last door on her right and entered it being that it was the only door intact. 

She opened it and stepped inside the room. It had faded blue walls and old dusty furniture. The bed was a mess and there were toys scattered all over the floor. The nine year old girl knew that this was clearly a young boy’s room. After looking around a little bit, she noticed something under the bed. Juliet bent down and reached under and pulled out an old blue blanket. It was worn down and had a few faded stains on it, but Juliet knew it could be of use. In all honesty she actually liked this blanket a little bit. 

“Hmm...This blanket is surprisingly in good shape…” The young blonde then ran her thumb across the material. 

“Ooh! It's really soft too..I might keep it. It'd be a shame to scrap it.” She said, what Juliet did next was something she ended up regretting. She held the old blanket close to her chest and breathed in smelling the blanket. It smelled extremely musty, in response to this, Juliet held the blanket away from her body in slight disgust. “Phew! That reeks! But that's okay, I can wash it.” She then folded it up and slipped it into her bag and left the house and continued on. 

She walked a while longer until she came across an old military yard filled with tanks and trucks and even a vertibird from the pre-war era. 

“Jackpot.” She smiled, she ran into the military yard and began helping herself to everything that she could find there. She entered the cement building where it was dark and the windows were all boarded up. She walked though the place slightly afraid but she was not scared enough to leave. Suddenly she stumbled upon a green chest with a white star. 

“What's in here?” She asked herself, she lifted the lid to reveal tons of odd looking guns and ammo along with some chest pieces and helmets. She gasped in delight, this must've been her lucky day. She picked up one of the weird futuristic-looking guns and turned it over in her fingers. She then aimed it at the wall squeezing one eye shut. 

“Hmmm...I wonder what this does…” She then pulled the trigger which caused a bright red laser to shoot out of the gun which made a hole in the cement wall. Juliet was taken aback but then looked down at the laser pistol that was still in her hand. 

“Whoa...this stuff is DEFINITELY coming back with me!” She then proceeded to stuff her bag with the rest of the guns, ammunition, and armor and exited the old building when something not too far away stopped her. She noticed a locked cage with a terminal next to the main building. Intrigued, Juliet walked over and gasped at what she saw. It was big...it was glorious…

...It was a full set of power armour…

Juliet was amazed, she reached her hand out and touched the door to the cage. This was incredible! She had never seen real power armour up close before. Her parents told her about power armour once, they educated her on a lot of stuff about the wasteland growing up. She couldn't exactly tell what model it was but it looked like T-45 power armour to her. She wondered if she could find a good use for it. She looked over at the terminal and went over to it. Juliet entered the computer only to find that it was locked with a password. She attempted to hack the system but it was no use, the security was too tight. Now frustrated she looked off to notice the sun was setting over the dusty hills. Sighing she turned to head back towards “Little Lamplight” not noticing herself go through a laser beam trap. 

She suddenly heard a noise of something turning on behind her. 

“Intruder detected. Initiating defense protocols.” A robotic voice said, Juliet slowly turned around to see a large robot heading her way. It was tall and had huge rolling legs. Juliet knew what it was. 

“SENTRY BOT!!!” She screamed running away. The large robot proceeded to chase after her. It started firing lasers at her but Juliet was a bit too quick and managed to avoid getting hit by them. She looked back and then ahead of her relieved to see the gate growing nearer and nearer. Suddenly she tripped and fell over getting a corner of her blue fatigues snagged on a jagged piece of machinery. She looked back in fear, the sentry bot was getting closer. Juliet yanked and yanked at the caught corner of her fatigues trying to get loose. The sentry bot was now closer than ever! Finally with one hard final yank, Juliet’s fatigues ripped a bit and she took off running out of the military yard. 

She tiredly walked through the cave and approached the gate. Sammy and Squirrel were on guard duty again and they opened the gate to let her in. As she went in she gave them a tired smile. She took her bag full of junk to the small station where scavengers brought the things they collected and dumped her bag’s contents on the counter. The kid running the station blinked once in surprise at the large amount of stuff she had collected. 

Juliet then pulled out the blue blanket hugging it to her chest. 

“This is mine.” She said, the kid just nodded and took the rest of the items. Juliet then dragged herself to her room to get some sleep. She walked right past Penny who was folding some clothes that had been washed. She noticed her friend looked tired. 

“Hey Jules, how was scavenging today?” She asked, 

“Don't even ask.” Juliet replied grumpily, “Why what happened? You have a bad day?” Penny asked, “I almost got shot by a sentry bot. The day was fantastic!” Juliet replied sarcastically, Penny’s eyes widened upon hearing that. 

“Wait, you faced a sentry bot!?” She asked her surprised, “Yeah, I mean, I just ran off and barely escaped with my life.” Juliet nodded, “But at least I got some good loot out of the place.” She said smiling weakly. 

“What did you find?” Penny asked her, “Well, I found a few old laser pistols and sniper rifles, we could use those…” Juliet answered, Penny nodded, “I also found a lot of good scrap too. Then I found this blanket and a couple of caps.” She finished, 

“Wow, sounds to me like you had a successful search.” Penny said impressed, Juliet shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Well I'm gonna head to bed now. Goodnight Penny.” Juliet said hugging her friend, Penny hugged her back. “Night Juliet.” She said, Juliet then headed off towards her room. Once she got there she wrapped herself up in her new blue blanket ignoring it’s musty smell and fell asleep. 

The next morning, Juliet awoke and headed out again. While she had spent the previous day West of the settlement, this time she decided to travel more East. She was heading for the gate when she noticed Mayor MacCready, or RJ as some of the kids called him, heading for the front gate as well. Juliet raised her eyebrow, she hadn't seen much of him after he gave her the scavenging job. He was probably doing things that mayors do she guessed. She didn't know why, but she decided to follow him. She walked up to him. “Hey.” She spoke up, he looked at her his expression not changing. “Oh, hey...uh...” He trailed off forgetting her name, “Julia?” He guessed, 

“Juliet.” Juliet corrected him, he snapped his fingers. “Right, Juliet.” He nodded, 

“What’cha doing?” Juliet asked, “I’m going out to search the perimeter.” He told her, 

“Can...Can I come?” Juliet asked shyly, RJ looked at her confused. “Why would you wanna come?” He asked, “I’m just curious.” Juliet replied, “Besides, you probably shouldn't go it alone. It’s very dangerous out there.” 

The kid mayor thought it over for a minute. She was kind of right, he remembered that a few of the other kids in the settlement have had a few close calls with enemies when searching the perimeters alone. It was probably best to have someone else there watching his back. 

“Yeah, you can come if you want to.” He replied shrugging, “Really?” Juliet said brightening up, “Sure, just don't get in my way or annoy me.” He warned her, Juliet raised her right hand. “I promise.” She said, 

The two kids who were on guard duty opened the gate for them and they were off. They started their search. They traveled through the cave looking around cautiously making sure nothing would attack. As they exited the cave and stepped into the light of the early morning, RJ coughed a little. Juliet looked to him concerned. 

“You okay?” She asked, he just waved her off, “Yeah, I'm fine...I just don't leave the cave very much. Forgot how dusty it is out here.” He replied, Juliet nodded and went on ahead as he followed close behind. They searched the surrounding area of the cave seeing nothing but the barren Capital Wasteland. But Juliet stopped walking when she realized that RJ had stopped walking and was looking around as if something was wrong. 

“Something wrong?” She asked him, “Yeah, it’s just that...I have the strangest feeling that something’s watching us…” He replied, 

“It's probably nothing.” Come on, let's keep going.” Juliet urged him, the two carried on unaware of the figures watching them from behind the rocks not far from them.

“So like, how did you become the mayor in the first place?” Juliet asked, 

“It wasn't that hard, a lot of people think that being the mayor is all just telling people what to do and having higher respect than everyone else in the settlement. But it's more than that, you gotta protect your people, dedicate your life and time to them. The mayor before me was not doing her job, so I had to take over.” He replied, 

“Who was the mayor before you?” She asked, 

“It was Princess.” He said laughing a little, Juliet instantly burst into a fit of giggles. “Really!? Princess was the mayor before you!? You can't be serious!” 

“Yeah, she convinced us all to vote for her. But when she took office, she gave us one ridiculous demand after another and she expected us to obey her and call her “Princess”. It took her no less than five minutes to completely piss is all off. One of us had to do something but everyone else was too afraid to stand up to her, so I was the brave one that volunteered.” 

“What did you do?” Juliet said intrigued, “I punched her in the nose.” RJ answered punching his fist into his palm, Juliet was taken aback by this. 

“You hit Princess!?” She said loud, despite the fact that Princess wasn’t always very nice to her, she was still one of Juliet’s close friends. 

“Hey, what else was I supposed to do? She was being a bitch and when I calmly asked her to step down, she refused.” He rebutted, Juliet didn't say anything for a minute and thought it over. “I guess that's true, I mean, she left you no other choice right?” 

“Finally you see where I'm coming from. After that I took over and I've been the mayor ever since then. That was only three months ago. I don't know how long I'll last, but knowing that these other kids tolerate me, I think it's safe to assume that I probably won't be out of power for while.” RJ said, Juliet nodded, they went quiet for a few minutes as they walked until Juliet spoke up again. 

“You know, we may have just met and all, but I think you're a great leader.” 

RJ was taken aback by her statement, the other “Lamplighters” respected him for sure, but none of them had called him a “great leader” yet. It was praise that he wasn't all that used to...it actually made him feel a little good inside. The young kid mayor then also found that his face was flushing, why his face was flushing he didn't know, but he decided to try and hold it back. 

“Uh...th-thanks Juliet.” He said, “I appreciate the comment.” 

Juliet just giggled, “You're welcome.” 

After a while of searching the perimeter and finding nothing, they decided to head back to the cave. They wandered back through the caverns to get to the entrance to “Little Lamplight”. As they walked RJ stopped and noticed something on the ground. 

“Aww what!?” He whined, “What's wrong?” Juliet asked, RJ bent down and picked up a small object and then showed it to her. It was an old silver locket. 

“Ugh I just HATE it when people throw random shit into the cave! I mean, what is this place!? A junkyard!?” He groaned, the locket was definitely old and beaten up. The silver was a tarnished a bit and it had a few nicks and dents. However, it still held it’s beauty and was able to shine in the lights that were strung up in the cave. 

“I think it's beautiful.” Juliet said in awe, RJ gave her an odd look. She really liked this worthless piece of junk?

“You want it?” He asked her, Juliet looked at him surprised as a light red blush rose in her cheeks and felt her knees go a little weak. 

“Y...Yeah…” She replied shyly, RJ just shrugged and tossed her the locket and she caught with no problem. They proceeded through entrance gate and reentered “Little Lamplight”. A bunch of the kids were out now doing their own thing. The two friends didn't notice Princess leaning up against one of the cave’s stone walls arms crossed and watching them with narrowed eyes. 

“Well, this was fun but I gotta go start my scavenging for the day.” Juliet told him, 

“Yeah, I gotta go check the north tunnels to make sure everything’s okay over there. A mayor’s work is never done.” RJ replied, 

Juliet giggled, “I can only imagine...hey uh..thanks for letting me tag along, mayor.” She thanked him, “You can call me RJ if you want.” He told her, “Uh, okay. Well then I'll see you later...RJ.” She winked, in return he gave her a nod and then turned heading for one of the cavern’s tunnels. She then turned and headed back towards the gate when she felt a hand grab her arm. She turned and saw that it was Princess who was glaring at her. 

“Oh, hey Princess.” Juliet said kindly, 

“Hey Juliet.” Princess said coldly, Juliet looked off to the side for a minute, a bit weirded out by her odd behavior. “Is there anything I can do for you?” She asked, 

“Yeah, there is.” Princess replied nodding, “Stay away from RJ, he's mine, capiche?” She threatened her, 

“Wait what?” Juliet said confused, “Juliet since you're my friend I'm just going to tell you right now: Stay away from him. I love him and someday we'll be boyfriend and girlfriend. Do you understand me?” She asked, 

“Hold on a second. You like RJ?” Juliet said confused and slightly taken aback, “Yeah! He's sweet and cool and he would never do anything to hurt me.” Princess swooned, 

“Huh, that's funny, considering he punched you in the nose.” Princess’ eyes widened, “How do you know about that?” She asked, Juliet replied, “RJ told me all about how he overthrew you, how he punched you in the nose and then took your place as mayor.” 

“Well that was before, now he cares about me, he may not seem interested but he is, I know he is. So back off okay?” She asked, 

The young blonde just held her hands up in defense. “Okay okay, I wasn't even interested in him. Sheesh.” Juliet then turned and walked out of the gate again for another hunt for junk. 


	5. Chapter 4: Another Day in Little Lamplight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning, this chapter is kind of a boring one. It's just showing an average day in "Little Lamplight" and there's nothing that really adds to the story until the very end.
> 
> Also the flashbacks should be in italics but something's not working with that so the text has to stay normal.

“Mayor MacCready, if I can borrow you for a minute, I'd like to give my status report.” Sammy said respectfully, 

MacCready turned to the scruffy-haired boy. “Oh, good. Spill it.” He replied, 

Sammy talked to the kid mayor about his and Squirrel’s status on sentry duty. Thankfully there have been no intruders or threats inside and outside the cave. They were safe...for now...He was so focused on Sammy’s status update that he wasn't aware of the young girl in the pink dress that was stalking him. 

Princess sighed as she stared lovingly at the cute boy not ten feet away from her. 

“He's so cute…” She swooned, “And soon he'll be mine.” She was so caught up in her spying that she didn't even notice Juliet coming up from behind her. 

“Hey Princess.” She said, Princess jumped and screamed when she heard the nine year old's voice. She whirled around to face her. “Oh! J-Juliet! You scared me.” She told her, “Whoops, sorry.” Juliet apologized, “What are you up to?” She asked, Juliet then looked past her and saw MacCready talking to Sammy. The blonde looked back to the brunette. 

“Are you watching RJ?” She asked folding her arms across her chest, Princess began to show nervousness. She was sweating bullets and her cheeks went red. Finally she gave up. “Yeah.” Princess nodded, “I saw him standing there and I couldn't help but stare.” 

“So you're a stalker now.” Juliet replied, “I am NOT a stalker! I just...I just watch him a lot that's all…” The ex-mayor rubbed her arm nervously, she sighed, “I can't help myself, I've loved him since the moment he took over as mayor. I remember it like it was yesterday…” 

_It was a few months ago, right after she had been elected the new official mayor of “Little Lamplight”. She smiled as she stood on a platform looking down at all of the settlement’s inhabitants._

_“Okay, my first order as your new mayor is that I’m calling the shots now! You will all do as I say when I say it! Understood?” She asked them to make sure they were listening, the other kids just looked at one another odd and some shrugged while others just scratched their heads in confusion. Amongst the crowd was Penny, MacCready, and Zip. The three of them looked around at everyone else._

_MacCready turned to Penny. “Is she really the best we can do?” He asked her, “RJ, my man, she was the only one that wanted the job. Nobody here ever wants to lead. Too much responsibility.” Zip said, the Nuka-Cola addict was shaking while he was talking really fast._

_“Zip is right, RJ. It's not that easy to be a good leader. It’s hard enough to get any volunteers at all. We can't take any candidate for granted.” Penny told him,_

_“My second order is that there will be no arguments! If you have a problem with how I run things, just suck it up and obey me! ‘Cause I'm in charge! Am I clear!?” Princess asked again, the kids nodded now afraid of her._

_“Come on, Penny! It can't be that hard! I bet that I could run this settlement better than she ever could with one hand tied behind my back!” MacCready retaliated,_

_Being in power felt so good! Seeing them ready to obey her made Princess feel all high and mighty, like she was in charge, like she was the princess of the world!_

_...In fact…_

_“And as my third command, I want you all to address me as: “Princess” From now on!” She yelled, “Now stop standing around and get to work!” She screamed, the kids all scrambled around to get to their designated jobs._

_MacCready groaned, “Ugh! To hell with that! I'm not gonna have some girl tell me what to do!” He turned and walked off towards one of the cave’s many tunnels._

_“...I'll be in the shooting range if you guys need me…” He told the others, he stormed off._

_Princess then pointed at a young girl who looked to be about eight. “You! Girl!” She snapped, the girl stopped running and looked at her. She then pointed a finger towards herself to ask if the new mayor was talking to her._

_“Yeah you! Get up here!” Princess demanded, the girl who was now scared walked up the stairs of the platform and stood next to her new mayor._

_“What's your name?” Princess asked, the girl stuttered her name quietly due to being timid and shy._

_“Be-Be-Be…”_

_“SPEAK UP!!!” Princess yelled,_

_“Be-Beatrice!” The girl finally blurted out, “You stutter, you know what I'm gonna call you?...“Bumble”.” Princess said smugly, “So “Bumble”, you get a very special job! You get to pamper me! Rub my feet, bring me food, all that stuff! Now come, Bumble. There are things to be done…”_

_Not far away from them, Penny and Zip along with a few other kids were working hard on their jobs. Penny was doing the laundry, Zip was wheeling a wheelbarrow full of rocks, and the other kids were handling some other stuff. They just saw the whole thing go down._

_“Man! This sucks!” One of the other kids complained, he had blonde hair. “This is the worst mayor we've ever had!” A girl with bleach blonde hair whined as well, “Yeah, we have to do something! It hasn't even been five minutes and she's already pissing us off!” Another boy complained,_

_“I know! But what can we do? No one else wants to lead and there isn't any other likely candidate.” Penny told them, then a thought hit Zip._

_‘I bet that I could run this settlement better than she ever could with one hand tied behind my back!’_

_His face split into a smile and he began to jitter a lot more than normal._

_“Wait! There IS someone!” He said happily, Penny and the other kids perked up upon hearing this._

_“Really, Zip!?...Who?...” Penny asked him,_

_MacCready was still shooting at the practice range. Each of the beaten up targets was painted to look like a raider or a super mutant or ghoul so the kids could practice taking down enemies so they could be prepared for facing the real thing in the future. One target that looked like a raider popped up as if it were ready to attack. MacCready aimed his sniper rifle at the target and squeezed his right eye shut. With one quick move, he pulled the trigger and the bullet flew out of his gun and struck the target bullseye in the head. The raider-shaped target fell to the ground with a thud. MacCready put his gun back in it’s large holster that rested on his back and smirked at his shot._

_“Huh, you've done it again, RJ.” He said to himself, just then, Penny and Zip along Sammy, Squirrel and a small group of kids ran into the shooting range._

_“RJ!” Penny called out to him, in response to hearing his name, MacCready turned to face them._

_“What?” He asked a little annoyed with them,_

_“Listen, we need to tell you something!” Zip said, “It's important!”_

_The young boy folded his arms across his chest. “I'm listening.” He replied,_

_“It's Princess, she's a lousy leader…” Sammy spoke up,_

_“I knew it! What did I tell you guys!? I told you that she wasn’t going to do a good job! But you guys didn't listen to me.” MacCready pointed out,_

_“Yeah, you were right all along, RJ. She's doing a TERRIBLE job! We decided that we need a different leader! Someone better than her…” Squirrel nodded,_

_MacCready nodded. “Yeah, someone has to stand up to her and do something…Who do you guys have in mind?”_

_The group went silent and looked at each other. After a few seconds Penny spoke up again._

_“Well...we all talked about it, and we decided that the one to take her place should be you…” She said,_

_MacCready blinked once in surprise taken aback, “Me? Why me?” He asked,_

_“Because you're perfect for the job! Look at you! You're strong and confident, you're not scared of anything! You're reasonable. We need a leader like you…RJ...You’re the one…” Penny told him,_

_The young ten year old thought it over in his head. Penny was right about him being strong and brave. Plus he always knew he could probably be the mayor if he wanted to be...he just never really thought about it until now._

_After thinking it over while the other kids watched him with pleading eyes, he finally responded._

_“...Okay, I'll do it...I’ll take over as your mayor…” He said, the kids each heaved sighs of relief after hearing his answer._

_“Let me take care of Princess.” MacCready told them, the kids obeyed, he headed out of the shooting range and they followed close behind._

_Princess was lounging in a chair that must've been her throne. Bumble fed her mutated grapes as she basked in the lap of luxury. But it didn't last._

_“Princess!” A voice yelled out to her, Princess sat up straight and looked around for the voice until she finally found it. MacCready walked up the steps of the platform looking serious and slightly pissed off._

_“Oh hey RJ! What do you want?” Princess asked him, the young boy stood in front of her staring her down as if his eyes could turn her to stone._

_“Princess, on behalf of myself and the other kids of “Little Lamplight”, I ask you to step down from your position…” He said seriously, the bratty girl just burst out laughing. She laughed her ass off for a good minute before finally calming down. When she did, she stared him right back._

_“Please! As if I’d ever step down from this position! I'm a great leader! Besides, who else would take my place!?”_

_“...I would…” MacCready replied, Princess giggled. “You! You cannot be serious! You honestly think YOU could be a better mayor than ME! Ha! That's adorable!” This confrontation was already grabbing the attention of the other lamplighters. They couldn't believe what they were seeing! They were shocked that RJ MacCready, the guy who didn’t really talk much, was standing up to Princess. Sure, he wasn't timid, but he never stood up to anyone like this before._

_“I mean really! You wouldn't last ten seconds in my shoes! A house cat would scare you!” She teased,_

_The young sniper wasn't fazed by her insult. Instead, he let it boil inside of him to fuel his fury. He always tried to be a pretty mellow kid, but whenever he got mad, he got MAD._

_Losing his patience with Princess, MacCready struggled to hold all his anger in as he struggled through gritted teeth. “I'm giving you one last chance to step down peacefully...or else things will get ugly…”_

_The bitchy brunette just scoffed by his threat. She put her hands on her hips in a very sassy manner and got up close in his face. “What are YOU going to do?” She asked him, she leaned in closer and whispered in his ear. “You can't do nothing. You can be tough all you want, but I know who you really are...you’re a weak, pathetic, scared little boy that your parents didn't want…”_

_That did it for him. She had officially crossed the line. She could call him pathetic and scared, but when she brought his parents abandoning him into this, that was pushing the limit. In a blind rage MacCready’s fist tightened and he socked Princess square in the nose. This elicited numerous surprised gasps and murmurs from the crowd. The girl fell down and looked up at him holding her nose in pain and was shocked at what he just did._

_“I'm the mayor now, okay?” He said threatening, Princess nodded furiously, she stood up and ran away. The ten year old boy then turned to the crowd. Everyone was staring at him and what he just did. He looked back at them not saying anything. He honestly didn't know what came over him, but apparently it paid off._

_Suddenly, all of the kids cheered for him and Penny and Zip ran up the steps to the platform and stood on either side of him. Penny was smiling while Zip was smiling too and shaking even more than before._

_Penny grabbed MacCready’s hand and raised it up in the air._

_“”Little Lamplight!” Behold...your new mayor!” She yelled out to everyone, the cheers got louder and threw their fists up in the air rejoicing their new leader._

_Looking out at the crowd, MacCready felt something swell up inside him. He knew what it was…_

_...It was pride…  
He stood up when no one else did, “Little Lamplight” was safe from tyranny, and it was all thanks to him. _

_He smiled at everyone who was cheering him on. For the first time in his life, he felt needed._

“Wow, who knew he was brave.” Juliet said surprised, Princess nodded. “Yeah, I think he had it in him all along, all he needed was something to push him.” She replied, 

“So, what happened after that? I mean, he humiliated and physically hurt you in front of the entire settlement. Why would you fall for someone that hurt you?” Juliet asked her, 

Princess smiled and blushed. “Well...It was a few hours after I was kicked out of my mayor position…” 

_Everyone in “Little Lamplight” was still rejoicing MacCready being their new leader._

_The new mayor was getting showered with praise and attention, every kid was scrambling over to see him. It felt good, he never had this much attention before. Plus, these kids needed a leader, they needed HIM. MacCready himself never felt special or important before...but now seeing all of his peers gain a new level of respect for him touched his heart in more ways than one._

_However, past the crowd of kids around him, he saw Princess walking past the crowd holding an ice pack over her now possibly broken nose that he had given her. She looked at him and for a second, their eyes met. MacCready could see the humiliation in her eyes. He then felt a sickening pain sock him in the gut. Guilt. Princess then looked down at the ground and continued to head for one of the tunnels to go to her room. The new mayor excused himself for a minute and pushed through the crowd and headed off down the same tunnel that she went much to the confusion of the other Lamplighters._

_“Hey!” He called out, Princess stopped walking and turned to face him. She was obviously still pissed off about what he did to her earlier._

_She glared at him, “What do you want?” She asked, “Haven't you humiliated me enough!?” He walked up close to her. Princess didn't know what he was going to say or do to her. But what he said was something she wasn't expecting._

_“...Is your nose okay?” He asked, Princess blinked once in surprise. “Uh...yeah…” She replied,_

_MacCready nodded, “Good...uh..listen...I'm really sorry I hit ‘ya. I didn’t want to do it, but you weren't listening to reason, and I had to set a good example for everyone else.” He explained,_

_Princess smiled. “I understand, I was acting a little foolish, wasn’t I? Plus it's good that you wanted to set an example so people won't mess with you. It seems only logical, you know what I mean? And don't worry about my nose. It may be broken, but I'll be alright...I've had way worse, believe me.” She assured him, even though she said it was fine, she noticed him cringe a bit when she said the word “broken”._

_She sighed, “Well, you're the mayor now...congratulations, you earned it. I guess people will stop calling me “Princess” and just go back to calling me by my real name…” She sighed,_

_“I'm still gonna call you “Princess”...” MacCready told her, the ten year old girl looked at the ten year old boy with wide eyes. “...I like it, and it suits you…”. He complimented,_

_Princess was beyond flattered. She felt her cheeks go red and legs went weak. Her heart began to thump out of her chest as she stared into his icy blue eyes._

_“Well, it was good talking to ‘ya.” MacCready said to her, Princess shook her head to clear her thoughts and regain her focus. “Uh yeah! Right back at you…” She nodded, “Well, I gotta go...see ‘ya.” MacCready yelled as he ran back out of the tunnel to rejoin the other kids, Princess just smiled bashfully and rubbed her arm still blushing._

_“...Bye…” She said,_

“See why I like him now?” Princess asked Juliet, Juliet thought it over for a minute letting the last parts of Princess’ story sink in. Finally she nodded. “Yeah, I can kinda see why you do.” She replied, Juliet then went silent. “...Does he like you back?” She asked her, 

Princess shook her head. “Not yet, but I know he has feelings for me. I'm telling you, someday we'll be boyfriend and girlfriend.” Juliet nodded, “I’m happy for you.” She said, Princess then surprised Juliet in a hug. 

“Thanks Juliet.” She said, she then pulled the young blonde away and looked at her for a minute. “You don't like him, do you?” She asked her seriously. Juliet smiled knowing what Princess was getting at. “Don't worry, Princess. You don't have to be jealous of me. I don't like him that way.” She said, The brunette smiled and laughed a little. “Okay, sorry.” She said, she sighed. “If only I knew how to tell him…”

“Tell me what?” A voice asked, they both turned to see MacCready standing there smiling sincerely as he looked at them with curious eyes. 

Princess jumped. “Oh! Uh! Hey, RJ! Good to see you! I was just telling Juliet that I wish I could tell you about how Juliet is doing so good at her scavenging job, right Jules?” She turned to Juliet, the young blonde nodded. “Yeah. That's what we were talking about.” She said, 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that actually. I'm impressed with the sudden increase in inventory since you started. We have more weapons and scrap than we know what to do with. Whatever you're doing, keep it up.” MacCready praised her, Juliet nodded, “Thanks, RJ. I will.” The ten year old then looked to Princess. “Princess, stay beautiful.” He smiled and teased her with a wink, Princess literally felt her stomach do a flip when he winked at her. Her cheeks went red and it was obvious that she was flustered. 

“Uh...O-okay…” She said, MacCready turned and left. “See you guys later!” He called over his shoulder, “See ‘ya!” Both Juliet and Princess called back, the young mayor just chuckled to himself as he headed down one of the cave’s many tunnels. 

Princess let out a loving sigh. “I love him so much…” She said dreamily, Juliet smiled, “That's nice, Princess.” She said, “Well, I got some scavenging to do. I'll talk to you later.” She said, Juliet headed for the gate. She headed out into the dangerous Capitol Wasteland for another day of scavenging. The nine year old decided that she was going to travel more West today. She was going to head in that direction the other day but that was the day she decided to accompany MacCready on scouting the terrain so she never got around to it. 

She liked the kid mayor, she really did. Sure he was a little stubborn at times, ibut hey, everyone had their quirks. Juliet herself was sometimes rather clumsy and a little timid and socially awkward. She couldn't count on one hand how many times she had tripped on her feet. She honestly liked all of the kids in “Little Lamplight”. Of course there were a few annoying kids, Sticky just to name one, but she didn't particularly hate anybody there. It had been a month since she first joined them, he time flew by so fast. Now it was really starting to feel like home. 

Home. 

The nine year old girl’s mind then wandered to her parents. Her heart sank. They must’ve been worried sick about her. Ever since the ghoul attack Juliet had not dared make the trip back home. Now being a member of “Little Lamplight”, she had a bunch of responsibilities to keep up and she hadn't thought of returning home. Juliet also knew that going home wasn't safe and her parents told her to not look back no matter what. 

But despite all that, she couldn't help but feel like she needed to go home. “Little Lamplight” wasn't her home, she had a family that loved her and she needed to get back to them. She was going to have to talk to MacCready about it later. 

She only hoped that he and the others wouldn't take the news too hard. 

Juliet walked for awhile and managed to find some good loot along the way. By the time she headed back, her beg was full again. Another successful search. She walked in the direction of the cave when suddenly the light breeze in the soft October breeze became a lot harsher. The winds began to pick up even more and started tossing the dirt and sand around in the air. 

Then the sky and clouds turned green. Juliet looked around in horror. She knew what was happening. 

A Rad storm. 

Juliet hurried for the cave as the radiation began to swirl around and around. She pulled her pink scarf that she found during one of her searches over her mouth and nose to block out the rads. She needed to get into the cave before the radiation filled her lungs. She could hear thunder boom and the green rad lightning crackle in the now clouded green sky. 

She saw “Lamplight Caverns” shortly in the distance. She was gonna make it. 

“HELP!” A voice called out, Juliet stopped running and looked around. Where did that voice come from?

“HELP!” The voice sounded again, this time it was accompanied by a second voice. They both sounded like kids’ voices. 

The nine year old blonde looked around frantically until she saw two girls who looked about her age standing not far from her. Both had dark hair and brown eyes. However, while one had pale skin, the other one had much tanner skin. They were both coughing, the one with the tan skin fell down as the pale skinned girl struggled to hold her up. 

Juliet gasped. She ran in their direction. She ripped off her scarf and pulled the collar of her blue fatigues up to her nose and wrapped the scarf around the tan girl’s nose and mouth. 

She then grabbed the pale one’s hand. “Come on!” She urged, “Wait! Who are you?” The pale girl asked, “No time! We gotta get you two out of here!” Juliet replied, she began to run and the two girls followed suite. They finally reached the cave and went in and through the wooden door. 

Now that they were out of the rads, Juliet lowered her shirt collar and the two frightened girls looked around at the Christmas lights strung throughout the cave as they wandered the caverns. 

“Where are we?” The pale girl asked, Juliet turned to them smiling. 

“...You’ll see...” 

They approached the gate where Scout was on guard duty his time and as soon as the redhead saw Juliet and the other girls so disheveled, her eyes widened. 

“Juliet! There you are! Are you okay!?” She asked her concerned, 

Juliet waved her off, “Yeah, I’m fine, Scout.” Scout then gestured to the girls. “Who are they?” She asked, 

“It’s okay, they're with me. Open the gate.” Scout nodded and pulled the lever opening the large gate. Both girls stepped back a bit obviously startled and Juliet turned to them. 

“Come on, it's okay.” She assured them, slowly both girls obliged and followed her inside. Scout came down from the guard tower and helped Juliet guide them into the settlement. Upon seeing Juliet and the two strange girls, the other residents of “Little Lamplight” rushed to their aid. 

“Are you okay, Juliet?” One of the girls asked, “Yeah, you don't look so good.” One of the boys pointed out, “Who are they?” Another girl asked, then through the crowd came two familiar figures. Penny and MacCready. 

“JULIET” Penny cried, the black haired girl hugged the blonde girl tightly until Juliet politely pushed her away. 

“Don't worry, Penny. I'm alright.” She said, then MacCready spoke up. 

“Thank God you're safe.” He said, he then looked to the other two girls behind her. 

“Who are these girls?” He asked, he was the third person to ask this question. Juliet answered. 

“I found these girls in the storm, they got lost I guess. I figured I should bring them back here.” She explained, the young mayor nodded. “Okay.” He then turned to Sammy and Squirrel. 

“Get these two to the medic, they got to be decontaminated. Same for Juliet.” 

Both boys nodded and saluted their leader. “Yes sir!” They said loudly, they ran off to fetch the medic. 

The pale girl looked to Juliet. “Thank you so much for saving us.” She said, Juliet smiled, “No problem.” She said, 

MacCready turned back to the two frightened girls. “Don't worry,  
You'll be safe here.” He assured them, “Welcome to “Little Lamplight”.” 

The tan girl nodded, “Th...thank you…” She murmured, it was obvious that she was shy and still shaken up. 

Then Penny spoke up. “What are your names?” 

The pale girl smiled, “I'm Chelsea.” Then the tan girl smiled shyly and looked down at the ground. 

“...I’m Lucy…” 

Both Penny and Juliet smiled, “It's very nice to meet you Chelsea and Lucy.” Penny said, “I'm Penny.” 

“And I'm Juliet.” Juliet introduced herself, then they gestured to MacCready. 

“And this is MacCready, or you can call him RJ if you want.” Penny explained, “Hi.” Lucy waved, the kid mayor felt this weird feeling go off in his chest. Seeing the tan girl made him feel different. It was weird, but he just shook it off. He smiled and has a nod. “Hey.” 

Sammy and Squirrel then came back. 

“Ladies, the medic is read for you.” Squirrel reported, they escorted Chelsea and Lucy to the medical area to get decontaminated.


	6. Chapter 5: More Arrivals?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know people debate on whether or not the Lucy in "Little Lamplight" was the same one MacCready marries later on. But for the sake of the story, it's going to be the same girl. So be prepared for some cute romance fluff between these two. Enjoy!

Chelsea and Lucy were hurried to the infirmary so they could get the de-radiation treatment. Juliet luckily didn't end up having radiation but unfortunately they did. Both girls sat on an old examining table and the settlement’s doctor, who was a ginger-haired 15 year old girl with thick black framed glasses, got to work on getting the rads out of their systems. 

“Okay, I’m going to flush both of your systems out with Radaway. You’d better stay still, this may sting a little…”. She warned them. She treated Chelsea first. As the needle went through her arm, the black-haired girl winced in slight pain but suddenly felt the rush of the Radaway wash through her body carrying all of the radiation with it. She was already starting to feel a little better. 

The doctor then turned to Lucy. “It's your turn.” She said, Lucy's eyes widened and she began to shake. The teenage doctor smiled. “Don't worry, this isn't going to hurt you, it's going to help you.” Lucy stopped shaking and slowly nodded. As the needle was injected into her arm, Lucy uttered an “Ow” but instantly started feeling better as well. 

Juliet, MacCready, Penny, Scout, Zip, Sammy, squirrel, and Princess were at the entrance to the medical area watching them quietly. 

“So Juliet, you found them in the storm?” MacCready asked turning to Juliet, the blonde nine year old nodded. “Yeah, they were in trouble. I couldn't just leave them there.” The brunette boy nodded understanding, “Did they say where they're from?” He asked, “No, we were in such a hurry that I never asked them that.” She replied, 

While the others seemed to believe that Chelsea and Lucy were nice. Princess, on the other hand, didn't trust Lucy and Chelsea one little bit. 

“Hold on a second. How do we know that this isn't some sort of trick? What if they’re dangerous?” She asked the others, 

Sammy scoffed, “Really. You really think they're bad? You've got to be kidding!” Penny chimed in as well, 

“Princess, they are lost and alone and scared. I can see right through them. They're good.” She said, 

Squirrel looked to Penny confused. “Wait, you can see through them? Like a superpower or something?” He asked, 

Penny shrugged. “Maybe.” She said, “But anyway, let’s let them rest a bit. We'll talk to them later. 

As they all went their separate ways, Juliet and MacCready got to talking. 

“What do we do with them?” She asked, “Let them stay here. What else?” He replied, “We can't send them back out there alone.” 

Juliet nodded. “I see what you mean.” 

The mayor then turned and headed back to the infirmary. Juliet followed and watched him as he went in and approached both girls. 

“Hey, how ‘ya feeling?” He asked, Chelsea smiled. “We’re fine, thank you.” 

“So like, do you guys have anywhere to go?” He asked awkwardly, both girls’ hearts sank and they now looked as if they were on the verge of tears. It reminded MacCready of when he first met Juliet and how she cried when he asked her about her family. Finally, Lucy shook her head. 

“No.” She said softly, MacCready felt bad for them, he really did. He took the tan girl’s hand and she looked at him with now red teary eyes. 

“That's okay, you guys can stay here. There's plenty of room.” He assured them, 

Chelsea perked up. “Really?” She said, he nodded. “Yeah…” He then shook Chelsea’s hand like he did with Juliet. “Welcome to “Little Lamplight”.” Chelsea smiled as he moved on to shake hands with Lucy. Lucy’s face was no longer sad but now bright and happy. She was literally beaming from ear to ear. Juliet then decided to enter the room and join them. 

“Congrats on being the new members.” She winked, Chelsea looked to her still smiling. “Thanks.” She replied, “So like, what happened with you guys? Where did you come from?” Juliet asked, both girls’ faces went sad again. 

The blonde noticed their hesitation. “It's okay, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to.” 

“No! It's fine, we don't mind…” Lucy said abrupt, she sighed, “My parents died when I was very little. I barely knew them…I lived on my own all of my life…I stole food and clothes from caravans and I took care of myself...” Her eyes teared up.

Both the young boy and girl didn't know what to make of that. It's amazing that she could survive on her own all that time. It seemed she would fit right in with the other Lamplighters. She seemed strong and capable, just a little timid. 

MacCready put a hand on her shoulder. “I know how that feels. I never knew my parents.” Lucy looked at the boy surprised. 

“What happened?” She asked, 

The young mayor shrugged. “I don't know. I just don't remember them.” 

Then Chelsea began to cry as well. 

“...My family was killed…” She said,   
“By who?” MacCready asked, 

Chelsea’s face darkened with anger. 

“...The “Brotherhood of Steel”…” She said, there was venom in her voice as she spat out the name. 

Both Juliet and MacCready’s eyes widened upon hearing that. 

“Wait, the “Brotherhood of Steel”? Aren't they the protectors of the Capital Wasteland?” Juliet asked, she had heard stories about the famous “Brotherhood of Steel” with their power armor and their Gatling Lasers and their airship, The Prydwen. She heard about how they saved the wastelands from disaster on multiple occasions and joining their ranks was considered honorable. She wasn't too crazy about their morals but she thought they were overall “okay” people. 

MacCready just folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. “Hmph! Figures...I've never liked those Brotherhood people.” 

“But...they protect the people...why would they kill your family?” Juliet asked, 

Chelsea hesitated before answering. She looked down at the dirt and stone floor and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her ratty grey jacket. 

“...You ever hear of synths?” She finally asked,   
Juliet blinked once in confusion. “Synths? What are synths?” She asked, 

“Synths are mechanical people. They look and think like humans but are often judged for being made and not actually born. Most of them are more up north in the Commonwealth but there are some roaming around the Capitol Wasteland too. We call them androids here though…They're also often used as slaves…” 

“That's horrible!” Juliet gasped, 

“I know...my parents along with my older sister, Lorelei, and I helped synths. We helped the ones here in the Capitol Wasteland and the Commonwealth escape from their masters and get to freedom. My parents’ job was to transport the escaped synths to our house, and Lorelei and I were in charge of giving them better clothes and keeping them safe until it was time to move them again. The “Brotherhood of Steel” wants to destroy synths. They think they're abominations or something. I don't know, but my family was one of the best at moving synths. We never failed helping them escape. They must've gotten word about us and decided to put us down. I managed to escape, but I sadly can't say the same for my parents or my sister…” 

“So what happened next?” MacCready asked, 

“Well, after wandering alone for a while, I started to starve, but then I ran into Lucy who offered me some food that she managed to snatch up from a vendor. We slowly became friends and not long after that we decided to stick together. She showed me how to survive and I protected her in return.” 

Juliet could feel tears well up in her eyes as her heart cracked a bit. “I'm so sorry.” She said, she then hugged both girls and they hugged her back. But then she pulled back to look at them. 

“But don't worry, you two don't have to worry about that anymore. You're safe here. This is your home now.” 

Both girls began to smile and Lucy wiped her eyes. 

Juliet and MacCready stayed with the girls for awhile. They told Lucy and Chelsea about what happened to them and how they got to “Little Lamplight” as well. After a while of talking to them and getting them more comfortable of their new surroundings, Penny came and shows both girls to their rooms. 

“I'm glad they're gonna be alright.” Juliet told MacCready. The brunette-haired boy nodded. “Yeah, well they wouldn't be here if not for you. You save their lives today. Good on ‘ya.” He complimented, Juliet smiled and blushed a little from the flattery. 

“Thanks.” She said, then she turned in the direction of her room. “Well, I think I'm gonna turn in.” He nodded, “Yeah, me too. Night, Juliet.” 

“Night, RJ.” 

The next morning both Chelsea and Lucy awoke to be greeted by Penny who insisted that she show them around and get used to the place.” Both girls agreed and they proceeded on their tour. 

Juliet walked through the large gate again coming back from another day of scavenging. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Penny hurrying out of one of the tunnels dragging Chelsea and Lucy with her. The two of them looked exhausted and Juliet knew why. Penny gave them the same tour that she had given her. As fun as it was, the young blonde agreed that it was a little much at times. 

Chelsea approached Juliet looking like she had just run a marathon. 

Juliet smirked. “Let me guess, Penny gave you the tour, didn't she?” Chelsea nodded, “Yeah. That girl has so much energy it's not funny!” She exaggerated, the young scavenger giggled. “I know it's a little much, but Penny has a good heart. You'll learn to like her.” 

Chelsea smiled and then switched her gaze to the bag that Juliet was dragging along the floor. 

“What's in the bag?” She asked, Juliet instantly lit up. “Oh, I'm a scavenger. I go out and collect things that would be of use to the settlement.” 

“Ooooohhhhh….” Chelsea said understanding, the blonde then reached into her bag and pulled out two matching bracelets. 

“Check these out! I found them in the river down by Arefu. Don't know where they came from. Had to outrun the mirelurks but it was worth it. She then handed one out to her. “Here, take one. Think of it as a welcoming gift from me.” Chelsea smiled as she took the bracelet from Juliet and slid it on her wrist. 

“It's a perfect fit. Thank you.” She said sincerely, she then surprised Juliet with a hug. Juliet was taken aback a bit but then welcomed the hug warmly. 

Then she got an idea. “Hey, what if we make these friendship bracelets? You have one and I can have the other one.” She said, Chelsea nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Totally! So, best friends?” She asked, 

“Best friends.” Juliet agreed, the two of them shared another hug happy that they each had a new friend. 

MacCready walked around the settlement of “Little Lamplight” once again making sure it's a safe place for it’s residents. 

Not far away from him, Lucy noticed him walking by. She smiled and approached him. 

“Hey.” She said, he turned to face her. “Oh, hey.” He replied, 

Lucy’s entire face went red. “I just wanted to say, thanks for letting Chelsea and I stay here. We really appreciate it.” She said, 

MacCready nodded. “No problem, Lucy.” The ebony-haired girl giggled and the young mayor felt that weird feeling go off in his chest again. But once again he shook it off. 

“Well, I gotta run, see ‘ya!” She yelled, she then turned on her heels and ran off. MacCready just stared after her. He then turned and headed off towards the south tunnel. 

Juliet and Chelsea were now hanging out in Juliet’s room. The blonde was laying on her mattress staring up at the ceiling while the raven-haired girl was sitting criss cross on the floor leaning back on her palms. As the radio played slow beautiful violin music that was occasionally featured an old woman speaking in between songs, they were very quiet. 

“So, now that you've seen “Little Lamplight”, what do you think?” Juliet asked, Chelsea shrugged, “Eh, I'm just surprised that it's kids that keep this place organized.” She replied, 

“It's not really organized,” Juliet replied, “RJ says it's “Pure Anarchy” and that it's the “Way he likes it”.” Both girls rolled their eyes at that. “But I don't believe that, I for one think it's very organized.” She said, 

Suddenly out of the blue they heard a loud crash. Like the sound of rocks falling. Both Juliet and Chelsea stood up and ran outside to see what was going on. There was a crowd of kids surrounding the entrance to the South tunnel. The dozens of children were whispering and murmuring about something. The two new friends didn't know what they were talking about, but they knew that it must be serious. 

They hurried over. “What's going on?” Chelsea asked, suddenly Zip, Penny, and Scout emerged from the crowd and headed straight for them. They looked extremely worried and Zip was shaking, but it wasn’t from his sugar high. 

“Guys! It's horrible! Just horrible!” He panicked, 

“Zip! What is it!?” Juliet asked, the Nuka cola addict just continued to shake in horror. He couldn't speak so Penny continued for him. “There's been a collapse in the South tunnel!” She said, RJ...he's down there!” Scout finished, the color from Juliet’s face drained. Tears began to fill her eyes. 

“NO!!! RJ!!!” She yelled out, she then attempted to push through the crowd. Zip and Chelsea followed suite. 

“Whoa! Juliet where are you going!?” Zip called after her, 

“I'm gonna get him out! I can't leave my friend there!” She replied, 

“Juliet! You can't! It's too dangerous!” Scout yelled, “I don't care! RJ’s my friend! I'm not gonna leave him!” Juliet retaliated, she may had only known him for no less than a month, but she already felt a strong connection for the young mayor. She considered him one of her best friends. The blonde then finally managed to get through the large sea of kids and ran down the tunnel. 

The other four stared after her. Until Chelsea spoke up. 

“...Like Hell she's doing this alone…” Then she took off down the tunnel as well leaving Zip, Penny, and Scout still staring speechless. 

Juliet dashed through the tunnel as fast as her legs could carry her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she huffed in and out trying to not lose her breath. 

“Juliet!” A voice called out, she stopped and turned to see Chelsea running towards her. This surprised her. 

“Chelsea!? What are you doing here!?” She asked, “I’m going with you! We’ll save MacCready together!” She replied, “No, you can’t it’s too dangerous.” Juliet retaliated, suddenly they felt a tremor and heard a crumbling noise. Both girls looked up to see that the cave was collapsing again. One of the heavy rocks fell from the rocky ceiling and Chelsea pushed Juliet and herself out of harm’s way. 

Juliet was taken aback by Chelsea’s sudden action. “Thanks.” She said, “Don’t mention it.” Chelsea said, she then grabbed Juliet’s hand. “Come on, we don’t have much time!” The two of them ran through the rest of the tunnel looking around for their friend. The tremors were becoming stronger and more frequent and more and more rocks were falling. They needed to grab MacCready and get out of there ASAP. 

“MacCready!” Chelsea called out, “RJ!” Juliet called after, they then heard a groan. They looked ahead of them and not too far away, the young mayor was laying on the cave floor, clearly half-conscious, clutching his left arm in pain. 

“RJ!” Juliet shrieked, she ran over to the boy, knelt down, and scooped him up in her arms. He had completely fallen into a state of unconscious. 

She began to shake him. “RJ! Wake up!” She cried, Chelsea knelt down beside them as well. “Yeah! Come on, dude! Wake up!” She urged, then the tunnel shook again. “Come on, let’s just get him out of here!” Chelsea said, the two friends worked together to heave him up and ran for the tunnel’s exit. They dashed out of the exit and fell to the ground causing the crowd of kids to step back a bit. 

They wearily stood pulling MacCready up in the process. “We...we need a doctor!” Juliet coughed, Lucy then emerged from the crowd. She ran to their side and put two fingers on MacCready’s wrist. 

“...I’ve got a pulse but it looks like he broke his left arm.” She said, “What do we do?” Chelsea asked,   
“We’ll take him to the medical area. “I can fix him up.” Lucy replied, 

“Wait Lucy, you’re a medic?” Juliet asked surprised, Lucy smiled sheepishly, “Yeah. When you live on your own for as long as I have, you learn how to treat your own injuries. Now come on.” She said, they lugged the kid mayor to the medical area that Chelsea and Lucy were brought to the day before. Once there, Lucy, and the doctor who treated Lucy and Chelsea, got straight to work on fixing MacCready’s arm under Lucy’s direction. Everyone Juliet, Chelsea, Zip, Princess, and the others watched in awe as Lucy perfectly performed the procedure as if she had done it a thousand times. She secured his arm in place and then placed it in a cast and a sling. When she was done she stayed by MacCready’s side while the other doctor shooed everyone else away. 

After a while the ten year old mayor stirred in his sleep and awoke. His arm felt numb. He groaned and struggled to open his eyes adjusting to the bright light that shone over his bed. His eyes finally opened to reveal a blurry figure above him. They were hard to see. 

“...Juliet?” He said confused, Lucy smiled and shook her head. “No, it’s me, Lucy.” She said, “Lucy?...what...what happened?” He asked as he struggled to sit up. 

“You were in the South tunnel and it collapsed. You broke your left arm in the process. But it’s not too bad, it should heal in about three weeks or so.” She explained, 

He nodded in understanding. 

“But...who saved me? I was out cold.” He asked, 

The young nurse beamed, “Juliet and Chelsea saved you. They dashed in and got you out of there despite the risk. Then they brought you to me and I patched you up.” She said, 

MacCready then looked down at his arm that was in the cast and sling. He then looked back to Lucy and smiled. 

“Thanks Lucy…” He said, Lucy blushed some and felt nervous. “Y-You’re welcome.” She replied, 

Just then Juliet and Chelsea entered the room and approached their friend. 

“Hey man, how you feeling?” Chelsea asked, “I’m doing fine, thanks.” MacCready replied, “...You guys...saved my life…I owe you guys my life for saving me.” He said, 

“No, no that’s not necessary.” Juliet said stopping him, “No really, no one’s ever done something like that for me before...Thank you…” 

Chelsea smiled. “Well, all in a day’s work, I guess.” She said, 

The four of them then laughed it out for they knew everything was now okay.


	7. Chapter 6: Going Home

About a week or two passed since Chelsea and Lucy joined “Little Lamplight” and since the rescue after the South tunnel collapsed. Both girls were finally getting used to the place. Everyone seemed to like them and they had gotten their first jobs. Chelsea was assigned with guard duty while Lucy was assigned as their new medic who would train under the mentorship of the other medic that healed her and Chelsea. 

MacCready’s arm was a lot better than it was before. It was now much stronger and he was once again able to shoot with it. Just one more week and he would be his old self again, which the residents of “Little Lamplight” couldn’t decide if that was a positive or a negative. 

It seemed that everyone was happy and that everything was working out. Well, that is all except for one person. 

Juliet threw the rest of her belongings into an old backpack that she had found three days prior. She looked around her small room and gave a heavy sigh. Today was the day. 

She was leaving for home. 

Juliet hated to go, but she had to. Her parents were probably worried sick about her and besides, as nice as “Little Lamplight” was, she couldn’t stay there forever, it wasn’t her home. But she was really going to miss everybody, they were all so good to her, but it was for the best. The young blonde also knew that it was going to be a long journey back, but she was willing to whatever it took to be with her family again. 

She opened the door to her room with a slight creek and peeked out looking around. Everyone was off doing their own thing so they probably wouldn’t notice her. That was good, it was better that none of them knew about it, she didn’t want it to be a sad thing or to make a big deal out of it. 

She opened the door wider and stepped out and began to head in the direction of the main gate. As she walked through the settlement and gave it one last look. The memories of her time here flashed into her mind. She remembered the night she got there, she was lost and scared and they took her in. She met a lot of new people who she could now call her friends. That was something she never really had before. 

Juliet and her parents lived more East not far from the town of Megaton. About a ten to twenty minute walk at the most. The old western-themed town was nice and all, but her family preferred to live a little outside of town so they could have a little peace. Because of the distance coupled with Juliet’s age and the many dangers of the wasteland that laid between her home and the town, Juliet didn’t go there very much. Also, since she was homeschooled all of her life, she never really interacted with many other kids with the exception of the families that passed through. It was nice to have some real friends for once. 

She was going to really miss them. 

She then looked over and noticed MacCready was talking to one of the many girls in the settlement. She really had him to thank for all of this. He was the one who let her stay, he reach out to her when she needed help the most. She owed him her life for this. 

“...Thank you…” She whispered, her eyes welled up and she felt one of the tears escape her eye and roll down her cheek. She looked back towards the gate, it was a lot closer now. 

‘There it is...Just a little more…’ She thought, 

“Hey Juliet!” A voice called out, the nine year old cringed. She recognized the voice as Lucy’s. 

“Crap.” She murmured under her breath, forcing a smile she turned to face the young medic. Some of the others including MacCready, Chelsea, Zip, Princess, Penny, and Sammy and Squirrel came over as well. 

“...Where are you going?” Lucy asked, Juliet bit her lip. She was caught, she didn’t know how to break it to them. Finally she spoke. 

“I’m…..leaving…” She said, everyone’s eyes widened. Even Princess’. 

“What?” Sammy said in disbelief, 

“No way!” Squirrel continued for him, 

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Penny asked, 

“You can’t leave, Juliet! You just can’t!” Chelsea begged, 

Juliet looked at them with a sad face. “I’m sorry guys, I appreciate what you all have done for me, but...I can’t stay here...I have to go…” 

“Why?” Lucy asked her, 

Juliet sighed. “My parents are probably worried about me. I haven’t heard from them since we were separated. I have to get back to them and tell them that I’m okay.” She explained, “This isn’t my home. My home is with my parents...I hope you guys can understand that. But I am very thankful for all that you’ve done for me...thank you…” 

“But...but it wouldn’t be the same without you! We’d miss you!” Zip exclaimed, he then gestured to MacCready. “Even RJ doesn’t want you to leave! Right, RJ?” He asked him, he didn’t reply. The hyperactive boy looked to him. “RJ? Say something!” He yelled, the young mayor then walked over to Juliet and took her hand in his. Juliet stared at him and he just stared back. Their friends were waiting for what he had to say. 

“...Good luck, Jules…” He said with a sad weak smile, everyone else’s jaws dropped. 

“RJ! You can’t be serious about her leaving!” Zip yelled at his friend, 

“Yeah! Are you out of your mind!?” Sammy agreed, the ten year old mayor didn’t say anything and just turned to them. 

“Juliet’s right, she has a family to get back to. She’s more fortunate than us to even have a family. Let’s not keep her from it.” He told them, the others were still shocked, how could he support this!? 

“Well...then I guess we can't stop you…” Penny said, 

Sammy nodded. Yeah, we’ll miss you, Juliet.” The young blonde could see the tears forming in everyone’s eyes. 

She just smiled. “Aww guys, don't be sad. It’s going to be okay. If you guys start crying, then I'm going to start crying too.” She then went over to Sammy and Squirrel and hugged them both goodbye, after them she moved on to Zip who hugged her extra tight. Then she hugged Penny and Lucy who were already crying and then Chelsea. Princess even hugged her goodbye and wished her luck as well. 

Juliet then turned back to MacCready. He hesitated but finally spoke. “Want me to come with you?” He asked, “It's a long way back and you probably shouldn't go it alone.” 

Juliet shook her head, “No, you've already done so much for me. Thank you for letting me stay here. It was really great. I owe you my life, RJ.” The young mayor gave her a weak smile again and a nod. 

“Not a problem. Thank you for saving me.” He thanked again, Juliet waved him off. “Ah, don't mention it. I mean, what are friends for, right?” They both went silent, each staring at the other as if they were trying to burn each other's images into their memory. Then out of the blue, Juliet threw her arms around him and encased him in a tight hug. This took him and the other’s by surprise. He froze up not sure of what to do. Hesitantly, he put his arms around her lower back and waist holding her close. The ten year old didn't notice the nine year old was struggling to not cry. For her, it was the hardest to say goodbye to him out of everybody else. 

She slowly pulled away and gave him one last look before moving past him. She gathered up her things again and turned back to them all for one last look. She made a very feeble attempt to smile but it was obvious that she was now sad too. She turned her back to them and went through the main gate leaving “Little Lamplight” behind. Her friends felt their hearts break as soon as the gate lowered and Juliet disappeared behind it. 

Lucy then noticed that there were tears in Princess’ eyes. 

“Princess, are you crying?” She asked, 

“NO! It's just...allergies.” Princess lied, 

Juliet traveled through the tunnels and finally made it to the door. She reached out her hand but hesitated before putting it on the knob. Here she was, about to go into the harsh world that was the Capitol Wasteland. 

Juliet closed her eyes and took a deep breath and put her hand on the knob and turned it opening the wooden door. She walked through and exited the cave. As she stepped out into the bright sunlight, she squinted to adjust and threw her hand over her face to block it out. She looked around at the dusty dirt hills and the murky sky. 

Juliet took another deep breath and trudged forward towards home. 

It was now halfway through the day and Juliet was still walking. She occasionally stopped to take a break to either eat or rest, but her last break was a few hours ago. She wasn't even halfway there and she was already at her wit’s end. She was amazed that she was able to make it across the Capitol Wasteland first time around. 

After a while the young blonde decided that it would be best to take a break again. She made herself at home near a large rock leaning up against it and reached into her pouch and pulled out some food she packed for the trip. She opened the tin of potato crisps and poured some into her hand and munched on them hungrily, hen to wash it down she sipped a bit out of a bottle of Nuka Cola. Her favorite soda, of course. She got it from Zip. As it turned out, the Nuka Cola addict had a whole secret stash of Nuka Colas in his room that no one else new about. Since Juliet found out and promised to keep quiet, he gave her a few full bottles. 

After putting the remainder of her snacks away, Juliet leaned up against the rock hoping to catch a bit of shuteye while she was at it. She closed her blue eyes and slowly began to drift off to sleep. 

But the peace was interrupted when she heard a large twig snap a short distance from her. Her eyes snapped open and she sat straight up and looked around. There was no one there. The only things in the area were her and a bunch of large rocks. She looked around some more. Then she gasped when she heard a cough. She looked over at one of the rocks, there was someone or something behind it. 

Juliet slowly reached into her bag and pulled out a laser pistol and aimed it at the rock. She didn't really know how to use it and it wasn't actually loaded, but she brought it to use as a bluff. 

“Come on out, whoever you are!” She yelled, whatever was behind the rock didn't reply. 

“I'm serious! I have a weapon and I know how to use it!” She threatened, 

After a few seconds of silence, a familiar figure emerged from behind the rock. 

Upon seeing the figure, Juliet’s eyes widened and she lowered her gun. 

“...RJ?” She said, 

MacCready looked at her defeated. “Hey.” Was all he said, 

“What are you doing here?” She asked, “I thought I told you to not come with me.” She said, 

“I decided to anyway, I wanted to make sure you would get home safe.” He replied, 

“Well, now you know that I'm fine. Go on back, the other’s need you.” She said, 

He shook his head. “No, I can't let you go alone. It's too dangerous. Besides, I'm already out here, it would be kind of pointless to turn back now…” 

Juliet sighed, “So you decided to leave the others just to come after me? You're crazy!” She said, 

The young mayor sighed. “We just wanted to help.” He said, 

“Wait, ‘we’?” Juliet said confused, MacCready turned towards the rock that he was hiding behind. “The jig is up, guys. She knows. You can come out.” He said, this confused the girl, by her confusion instantly left when she saw Lucy, Zip, Chelsea, and Princess emerge from behind the rock. 

Juliet’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute! Guys!? What are you all doing here!?” She asked, 

“We’re here to help you.” Lucy said softly, 

“Yeah, we were worried about you, dude.” Chelsea continued, 

“No, I don't need your guys’ help. I can make it home on my own. Now please, do me a favor and go back. Leave.” Juliet said almost demandingly, 

Princess shook her head. “Nope, we're coming too.” 

“Whether you like it or not.” Chelsea continued, 

Juliet growled. “Ugh! Fine! Just stay out of my way.” She warned them, 

Juliet continued to travel and the others proceeded to follow her. She noticed that MacCready was walking by her side the whole time. It was a little unnerving. They walked for a good while, they ran into a few radroaches which scared the girls. But Zip and MacCready managed to take them out without any problem. 

The young mayor looked at Juliet who was only focused on what was in front of her. He never really got to ask her about what happened to her parents. He tried to the night they met, but she just cried, he hadn't asked her about it again since that night, he didn't want to upset her any further. But since she was going home now, maybe she was okay to tell their story. 

“Hey Juliet, can I ask you a question?” He asked her, the blonde looked at him. Her serious expression not leaving her face. 

“I was just wondering...how did you get separated from your family? What actually happened?” He asked, 

The serious look on Juliet’s face slowly dropped from seriousness to sadness. She looked down at the ground remembering that night. She didn't say anything. 

The ten year old looked the nine year old in the eye. “Juliet?” He said waiting for an answer, 

Juliet sighed, “It was about a month ago…”

_It was a peaceful night in Juliet’s home. The sun had just set over the horizon. Juliet was running around outside their house chasing mutated fireflies. They were like normal fireflies except that radiation made them bigger._

__“It was a beautiful night...my parents were in the house and I was playing outside...Dad was reading the newspaper and Mom was doing the laundry inside the house…”_ _

_Juliet managed to catch one of the fireflies in her hands. She opened her hands a bit and peeked in and saw the firefly blinking. She giggled at it and then opened her hands and set it free. She smiled in awe as it flew off into the world._

____

_“Juliet, time to come inside dear!” Her mother called from the inside, Juliet turned towards the house. “Okay, mom! I'm coming!” She called back, she walked into the house to see her mother ironing and her father was sitting in his chair reading the newspaper._

______ _ _

“I had a pretty nice life, I had a roof over my head, I had parents who loved me, I had food to eat and clothes to wear. Everything was perfect.” 

______ _ _

_Her mother set the clothing iron down and smiled at her daughter. “Time for bed, sweetie. Go on upstairs, I'll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in.”_

_________ _ _ _ _ _

_“Yes ma’am.” Juliet smiled, “Goodnight, Jules.” Her father smiled after lowering his newspaper to look at her, Juliet smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. “Night Daddy.” She said, she then hurried up the stairs to her room._

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“...But it wasn't to last…” 

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_She was about to change into her PJ’s when she heard a scream and a loud crash followed by a chorus of growling noises. She recognized the scream as her mother’s and dashed down the stairs and was frightened at what she saw._

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_Feral ghouls were in her house and they were attacking her parents. Her mother was now using her clothing iron as a weapon and her father was trying to stab them with a fire prodder that that had for their fireplace._

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_“Mommy! Daddy! What's going on!?” Juliet yelled, her parents turned to see her and her mom hurried over to her daughter._

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_“Juliet! Stay back! Don't you go near those!” She warned,_

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_“Mommy what are those things?” Juliet asked her, she was frightened and confused._

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_“Those are ghouls! They're very dangerous! So stay away!” Her mother ordered,_

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_Juliet obeyed and watched in horror as her parents attempted to fight off the ferals. But it was no use, there was too many of them._

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_Finally Juliet’s dad looked to her and yelled, “Juliet! You need to get out of here! No matter what you need to run, run far away and not look back! Do you understand?” Juliet nodded her head furiously, then her mother spoke,_

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_“We love you very much, Juliet…”_

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_“I love you too…” Juliet replied, then she made a quick bolt for the back door. Some of the ferals took notice and proceeded to chase after her. Juliet dashed out the back door and into the Capitol Wasteland. She ran as dad as her legs could take her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and sweat was running down her face. She could feel them gaining on her so she just kept running and didn't look back._

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“I finally managed to outrun them. After that I wandered more West. I traveled for a day until night fell again, then I found a cave and went in and came across two kids at a gate. They let me in and I was then introduced to a very nice boy who let me stay…” She finished her story by looking up at him smiling. 

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___He just smiled back at her, and they just kept on walking._ _ _

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________________________________Eventually it became nightfall and they were close to the town of Arefu. Juliet decided that they should stop there for the night. She pulled out her blue blanket and wrapped it around herself and laid down on the ground. The others laid down as well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready woke a few hours later, he looked up at the clear night sky. He could tell from the position of the moon that it was sometime around midnight. He then looked around at his friends still sleeping soundly. Zip and Squirrel were snoring and Lucy let out a cute snort in her sleep. The young mayor just chuckled at their goofiness, he then made sure that his gun was still beside him, he always slept with it, it made him feel safer knowing that he had some form of protection while he slept. Sighing he turned to lay on his side and saw Juliet who was lying only a few feet from him. He decided that it was best to stay close to her only because he knew how to fire a weapon and she didn’t. The others knew how to use guns, even Chelsea and Lucy knew how to use them to an extent, but Juliet was completely inexperienced, he knew he had to stay close in case something happened to her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________The young blonde slept peacefully with a blissful smile on her face. The moonlight shone on her face adding a glow to her already pretty features. MacCready couldn’t help but crack a smile when he saw her face. But he noticed that something was off. But he knew what it was the moment he looked down and noticed that his hand was resting on top of Juliet’s._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________‘What the hell?’ He thought to himself, this was weird, even for him. He was never this protective of anyone before. Sure, Juliet was his friend and he was concerned for her safety, but he didn't know her that well and was never like this to any of his other friends. The confused ten year old slowly lifted his hand off of hers trying to not wake her up and turned to lay on his other side and drifted off back to sleep again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________About an hour later, Zip was woken out of his sleep by a rattling noise nearby, he went over to MacCready who was out cold like the others and shook his shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“RJ...RJ my man, wake up.” He said in a whisper, MacCready sat up groggily and rubbed his tired eyes with his arm and replied, “What is it, Zip? He asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“I think I heard a noise.” Zip replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________The young mayor sighed. “Dude, it's probably nothing. Go back to sleep.” He replied, then a sudden rattling noise got both of their attention._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Really, does that sound like nothing?” The Nuka Cola addict asked his friend, the noise sounded again and the others slowly woke up to the noise as well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What...what is that?” Princess asked rubbing her eyes,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“We don't know.” Zip replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Chelsea slowly sat up along with Juliet, Lucy, who was already awake, got scared the moment she heard the sound. Her eyes widened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Uh oh…” She said, the other five kids looked to her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What do you mean “Uh oh”?” Juliet asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What is it?” Chelsea asked too,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Lucy gulped. “...Radscorpions...” She finally said,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Then out of the ground popped about a dozen Radscorpions. Everyone sprung to their feet as the large arachnids surrounded them making their rattling noises._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Zip gripped his 10mm pistol tightly and aimed with a shaking hand and pulled the trigger sending a bullet through the Radscorpion’s back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready aimed his gun at one of them looking through the scope and shot it down. The other scorpions backed off a but but still continued to close in on them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What are we gonna do!?” Lucy asked almost crying,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“I don't know!” Juliet replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Chelsea, who had a Chinese Pistol, shot down a few of them and saw an opening._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“There's an opening! There!” She gestured to it, “We can escape!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________The other kids followed her lead and they ran out of the swarm of Radscorpions. They ran for a good three minutes until they realized that they were safe once again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Okay, I think we lost ‘em.” Princess said,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Alright then, let’s keep going…” Juliet replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________They continued onward East. By dawn, they walked over a large hill that showed a huge view of the valley below. They could see Megaton in the distance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“There it is fella’s, Megaton. We're almost there.” Juliet told her friends, the young blonde then looked a little past the western town and noticed something in hillside, it was kind of hard to make out but there was definitely something there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What's that thing over there?” Juliet asked pointing to it.” Chelsea looked in the direction that she was pointing and recognized the structure at once._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“That's a vault, Juliet.” She replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Juliet whirled an eyebrow. “A vault? Like, the ones that kept people safe from nuclear annihilation?” She said,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Those are the ones.” The raven-haired girl nodded,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“What vault is that one?” Lucy asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready squinted his eyes a bit to make out the number on the vault door. “Vault...101…” He read,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Huh, that's cool to see, but we gotta keep going. Let's go.” Juliet encouraged, they began heading down the hill in the direction of her home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Do those vault dwellers ever come out of the vault?” Zip asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Not to my knowledge.” Chelsea replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Man that's too bad, it would be so cool to meet one.” Zip replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Yeah right! In your dreams, Zip!” Princess sassed,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“You never know, Princess. It could happen.” Juliet replied,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________They walked a short while longer until, in the distance, they spotted a small two story house. Juliet smiled upon seeing the house._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“There it is...my home…I made it…” She said, she then turned to the others looking sad. “Well guys...I guess this is it…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready nodded, “I guess so.” He replied, Juliet bit her lower lip. She didn't know what else to say._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Once again, thanks so much for everything. You’re a true friend,” She looked at the rest of them. “You are all true friends.” She said,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready then took her hand in his. “Want me to walk you there?” He asked her, Juliet smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure my parents would love to meet the boy who saved my life.” She said, the two of them then headed for the house. It was a rustic shade of blue and a few of the windows were busted but besides that the house was mainly intact._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Juliet could see from inside one of the windows the back door was open and swinging in the breeze. She remembered that she escaped out the back door when the ferals attacked. She barely managed to outrun them. She didn't think she'd make it, but sure enough, she did._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready noticed the look of remembrance on her face and just squeezed her hand tighter. They finally reached the front steps and MacCready let go of her hand and let Juliet go up the steps. She hesitated and looked back at him. He just smiled at her and silently encouraged her to open the door. Juliet turned back to the front door and closed her eyes taking a deep breath. She reached her hand out and grasped the doorknob and turned it slowly. The door swung open and she stepped inside and MacCready followed her suit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Mom! Dad! I'm back!” Juliet called, there was no response. The inside of the house didn't look much different from when she left, some of the furniture was busted up a bit but the damage wasn't too bad._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Mom?...Dad?” She called out again, she headed over to the staircase and called up the stairs. “Where are you guys? I'm home, I’m okay!” She yelled, she was starting to worry, where were her parents._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Juliet.” MacCready spoke up, Juliet whirled around to look at him. He stood there holding something out to her. She walked over to him and took the flat object from his hand. It was a picture frame that had a picture of her and her parents. In the picture the three of them looked very happy. Juliet’s mother had beautiful dirty blonde locks and green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. Her father had light blonde hair and blue eyes. It was obvious that Juliet inherited her father’s eyes and her mother’s hair and smile. Her facial structure was mixed. Juliet herself also looked happy in the picture. But it was cracked and there was a bit of blood on it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Juliet gasped in horror. “No...no they can't be…” The blonde nine year old fell to her knees and balled up and began to cry._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“...They can't be dead…” She whispered,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________MacCready felt really bad for her. He knelt down by her side and just wrapped her arms around her holding her close. Juliet wrapped her arms around him as well and cried into his shoulder. He softly ran a hand through her blonde locks trying to soothe her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“I don't think they're gone.” He told her, “They're alive, I know it.” Juliet continued to cry and he just continued to hold her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________After a while of crying Juliet wiped her eyes on her sleeve and sniffed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Now what do I do? I have nowhere else to go…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“...Yeah you do…” MacCready spoke up, Juliet looked at the kid mayor confused._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“...Come back to “Little Lamplight” with us. You can stay there.” He told her, Juliet’s teary blue eyes widened and she wiped them with her sleeve again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“RJ...I couldn't.” She said lowering her head,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Sure you could, it's not like you have anywhere else to go, and besides, we'd like you to come back. It wouldn't be the same without you, Jules…” He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head to look him in the eye._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________“Come home with us…” Juliet thought it over for a minute. After thinking she finally smiled and slowly nodded her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________“Okay.” She said, he just smiled back at her and he rose to his feet and held his hand out to her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________“Let’s go then.” He said, Juliet grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet. They exited the house and headed back to the others. Everyone was surprised to see them both come back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________“Juliet? What are you doing? Aren't you going home?” Princess asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________Juliet and MacCready just looked at each other smiling and Juliet looked to the brunette and replied, “Change of plans, I’m not going anywhere.” She said, “You guys are my family now…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________“Wait, what happened back there?” Chelsea asked,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________Juliet just still smiled at her friend. “...Let’s go home…” Was all she said,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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________________________________“Okay, in that case, let's go.” Zip said encouragingly, the six of them headed Westward towards “Lamplight Caverns”._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________Home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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	8. Chapter 7: "Captured"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we get to see a VERY special character come into play, can you guess who it is? ^^

**Two years later**

About two years had passed since Juliet returned to “Little Lamplight” with the others. Everything was okay. Although, some of the older kids had left and new kids came in, everything pretty much stayed the same. 

Juliet, now eleven years old, opened the door to her room. She smiled upon seeing the same old settlement that she had seen for the past three years. 

“Another beautiful day in “Little Lamplight”.” She said, she began to walk around the place saying good morning to everybody who each said good morning back. She reached into her bag and pulled out a sweet roll and took a huge bite out of it. 

Then Chelsea walked up to her.  
“Morning, Jules.” She said happy as well, 

“Morning, Chelsea.” Juliet replied, 

“You seem like you're in a good mood today.” The raven-haired girl pointed out, 

The blonde nodded. “I am.” She replied, 

“Why?” Chelsea asked, 

“Because today is the two year anniversary of when I first got here.” Juliet replied still smiling, 

“Whoa! Has it been two years already!?” Chelsea asked in awe, 

“Yep, two years to the exact day. Two whole wonderful years,” Juliet nodded, the blonde sighed. “Man, time sure flies.” She continued, 

Chelsea nodded, “I know, it's been two years since Lucy and I first came here too. It feels like only yesterday.” 

Then as if on cue, MacCready walked up to them. 

“Hey, what's the word, ladies?” He asked, Juliet smiled and replied, “Hey, RJ. We were just talking about how it's been two years since I got here. Isn't that crazy?” She asked, 

MacCready nodded. “Yeah, two years ago Sammy and Squirrel came to my room with a frightened little girl telling me she was a new arrival...” He smiled over at Juliet who just smiled back. 

Suddenly the two mentioned boys and Penny sped past them towards the gate. 

“Where are you guys going?” The young mayor asked the kids, 

Squirrel turned to him. We're going outside for a bit, get some fresh air.” He said,  
MacCready “Okay, but watch out for anything out there...you never know…” He warned them. 

Penny waved him off. “We’ll be fine, RJ.” 

The three playful kids then ran through the open gate. Juliet turned to MacCready again. 

“I'll go after them to make sure  
They don't get into trouble.” She said, he just nodded. 

“Thanks, that would really help a lot. Since Knick Knack and Knock Knock are sick, I have my hands full at sentry duty.” He replied, 

The blonde then shot him a wink took off after the others. 

“Man, Juliet’s so kind.” Chelsea complimented, 

“Yeah.” MacCready agreed, “Well, I've got patrolling to do. See ‘ya, Chelsea.” He waved,

Chelsea waved back at him, “See ‘ya.” 

As MacCready wandered through the tunnels, his mind wandered to Juliet. His opinion of her had most certainly changed since he met her. When they first met, the young mayor didn't really know what to think of her. She seemed kind yet jumpy, naïve but not stupid. She was nice, funny, compassionate, a little too nice and compassionate but he was fine with that. She was an all around cool girl. He didn't mind her one bit. 

...He actually liked her… 

The twelve year old leader was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Zip coming his way. The two slammed into each other and fell backwards landing hard on their butts. They groaned as they stood up again dusting themselves off. 

“Oh man! Sorry, Zip.” MacCready apologized to his friend, the Nuka Cola addict just waved him off. “Eh, it's okay, RJ. It happens.” He assured him, he noticed his usually easy going friend was lost in thought again. 

“RJ, man, are you okay? You seem kinda out of it.” He said, 

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking.” MacCready replied, 

“Okay, so what's up?” Zip asked, 

“Nothing much really, I was just talking to Juliet a few minutes ago.” The mayor replied, 

“Oh cool, how is she?” Zip asked, 

“She’s fine, same ol’ happy Juliet.” MacCready joked, 

Zip smiled and shook his head. “No surprise there.” He said,   
“Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny ran outside, I told them to be careful but they didn't listen to me. She went with them to make sure nothing would happen to them.” MacCready replied, “I told her that it would help me an awful lot since I have so much on my plate as it is.” 

“Wow, she’s quite a treasure, huh?” Zip asked, 

The mayor shrugged, “Yeah, she's really cool. One of the best people I know...” He replied simply, Zip looked at his friend and smirked. 

“You really like Juliet, huh?” He asked him, MacCready looked at Zip oddly, “Yeah, why?” He asked now weirded out a bit. 

“Oh, no reason. Except that you like her.” Zip said mischievously, 

“Of course I like her, she's my friend.” MacCready nodded, 

“No, I mean...you LIKE her.” Zip pointed out, 

MacCready stopped frozen and his eyes widened. He glared at his friend as if his icy blue eyes could stare him down. 

“WHAT!? I don't like her like that!” He yelled, “We’re just buddies, you know, friends. We’re not like that.” 

“Oh really? You sure spend a lot of time with her, you two are almost always seen together.” Zip said smugly, 

“Yeah, we hang out a lot. So what? Two friends can hang out without being a couple. Trust me, Zip, we’re just friends.” He assured him, 

“You can deny it all you want, but I know you're into her.” Zip teased, 

The young mayor’s cheeks were now burning red. He didn't know how to defend his case anymore. Not saying anything else, he turned and walked away while Zip watched him leave smirking all the while. 

“You can’t hide what you’re feeling, dude!” He called after him, 

Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny ran out in the open space outside of the cave. Juliet followed them close behind to keep an eye on them. As they goofed around she just chuckled at how they were acting. She spoke up. 

“Guys, don't go too far, okay? It's not safe.” She reminded them of MacCready’s warning, 

Penny stopped play around and turned to the young blonde. “Relax, Juliet. Nothing’s gonna happen to us.” She assured her, 

Little did they know they were being watched.   
“Well...I guess it's okay…” Juliet smiled with uncertainty, she still wasn't so sure. MacCready always seemed to know what he was talking about, after all, he had kept the mayor position for the past few years. So if he said that they should be careful, they should be careful. 

“Come on, Juliet! Mayor doesn't know everything!” Squirrel told her, 

“Yeah! Why do you always go by his rules?” Sammy asked, 

Juliet folded her arms across her chest. “Because he's the leader, he knows what he's doing.” She said defensively, 

“Aww come on! You're always defending him! If I didn't know any better I’d say you were in love with him.” Squirrel retorted, 

Upon hearing that, Juliet’s eyes widened and her heart stopped for a second. 

The other three kids stared at her. 

“Wait...are you serious!? You like mayor!?” Squirrel asked, 

Juliet held her hands up in defense. “Whoa whoa whoa! Who said that I was in love with him!?” She said reassuringly, 

“It’s so obvious, Juliet,” Penny replied, “you like him, there’s nothing wrong with that…”   
“There is absolutely no proof that I do!” She snapped, 

Penny smirked, “Oh yeah? Like the fact that you’re always around him?” She said teasingly, 

“Or the fact that you blindly follow his leadership like a puppy dog?” Squirrel continued, 

“Or the fact that you both have a lot in common?” Sammy said, 

“We have NOTHING in common! We’re polar opposites!” Juliet said defensively, “and I don’t hang out around him ALL the time. Just whenever I have a lot of spare time...and I do it because we’re friends. That’s what friends do, they chill out with each other.” 

The person or thing that was watching them drew closer, they were closing in on the four kids. 

Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny weren’t falling for it. They decided to push further. 

“Come on, Jules. You really expect us to believe that you don’t have feelings for him at all?” Penny asked her, 

“Nope, none at all.” Juliet said simply, 

“Bullcrap.” Squirrel said in a sardonic tone, “There’s no use denying it, Juliet. You’ve got it bad for mayor.” He said finishing the taunt in a sing-song voice. 

The young scavver’s face went red and she put her hands over her ears. “Lalalalala! I can’t hear you! Lalala!” She yelled over him, 

Penny’s look softened. “Okay guys, I think that’s enough.” she said, 

But the two boys didn’t listen to her. “Juliet and mayor, in a mutfruit tree…” Squirrel sang tauntingly, he looked at Sammy expecting him to finish. 

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” The scruffy hair boy continued the taunt. 

“I’ve had enough of this! I’m going inside!” Juliet said angrily, she was now extremely upset with them. She wasn’t as mad at Penny because she had quit teasing her before it was too late. But Sammy and Squirrel had REALLY crossed the line. She turned to go back into the cave when she suddenly felt a large strong hand grab her arm. She whirled around to find a grown man had a death grip on her arm. He had steel grey eyes and long dark brown hair styled into a mullet. He was clothed in metal and leather, a combat shotgun was strapped to his back. 

She gasped and her flushing red face instantly turned white. 

“Oh you ain’t going nowhere, little lady.” He said deviously, his voice was deep and country like and his breath smelled of whiskey. Juliet looked past him to see that three other men who wore garb that was very similar to him had the others in tight grips as well. They held on tight to them as the frightened kids thrashed against their captors struggling to break free. 

“Come, on. You and your little friends are coming back with us.” The man said deviously, 

“Where are you taking us!?” Juliet asked now terrified herself, 

The grown man gave her an evil smirk. 

“...Paradise Falls…” 

However, what the four men didn’t notice when dragging the four kids away, was a certain ebony-haired doctor that was watching them with horrified eyes. 

MacCready groaned as he approached the gate, it was his turn for guard duty and he was already beat. Doing someone else’s job along with his own was exhausting work, he was relieved that Juliet was watching over Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny for him. 

...He sure was glad that she was there…

He approached the guard post to see Lucy run through the gate looking like she saw a ghost. He could also see tears were forming in her eyes.   
She looked around frantically. “Oh my god! Oh my god!” She yelled, “What do we do!? What do we do!?” She said to herself panicking, His face paled. Something was wrong. Concerned, MacCready ran over to her. 

“Lucy? What’s wrong?” He asked her seriously, he used the back of his hand to wipe her tears as she tried to explain what happened in between shaky breaths. 

“It’s...It’s Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny...They were taken...by-by slavers…” She choked out, 

The young mayor’s eyes widened but were then filled immediately filled with fury. Lucy knew that wasn’t a good sign. 

“WHAT!?” He yelled, “Those slaver mungos think they can steal people from my settlement!? God! I knew this would happen! I told them to be careful, and did they listen!? No! Now look where they are!” He realized that he was out of control. He let himself cool off and removed his green army hat from his head and ran his hand through his hair. He replaced his hat and looked back to Lucy who was just staring at him. 

“I gotta do something...I gotta let everyone know what’s happened…Issue a lockdown and send out a search party...” He turned his back to her to go break the bad news to the other residents of “Little Lamplight” when Lucy stopped him. 

“...They took Juliet too…” She said somberly, 

That was all it took. Four words were all it took to stop him. The young mayor felt his chest and throat tighten and his heart skip a beat. He turned to the young medic-in-training completely speechless. Lucy looked at him sadly not knowing what else to say to him. 

He looked down at the ground and then back up at her. “I gotta tell them.” He said, he turned his back to her again and walked off. Lucy sadly stared after him. She knew that one of his best friends being caught by slavers destroyed him, and it hurt the young doctor to see her friends so broken up. She only wished that someone could do something. 

It didn’t take long for the slavers to return to “Paradise Falls” with the four kids in tow. Before any of the kids could say anything, shock collars were slapped around their necks and they were tossed into a cage landing on their hands and knees. A guard by the name of “Forty” and a man in a bright peach suit approached the cage. Two beautiful ladies in pink spring dresses followed him suit. 

“Well well, what have we here? A couple of new slaves to sell?” The man in the peach suit said teasingly, 

“Indeed, Mr. Euology.” Forty nodded, this “Mr. Euology” was not a nice guy from what the kids could tell. His smile was evil and unsettling which Juliet and the others were instantly intimidated by. 

“So, where did your team find ‘em?” He asked, 

The guard known as Forty smiled, “Out west, somewhere near the old abandoned “Lamplight Caverns”.” He reported, Euology nodded in understanding and then looked over his shoulder. “Come my dears, there is more pleasure to be had.” He said flirtatiously, he then led the two lovely girls that were with him to a building that Juliet could only assume was his residence. When the blue double doors closed behind them, Forty looked back to the prisoners. 

“Enjoy the accommodations!” He said tauntingly, he slammed the gate door shut and walked towards the bar laughing. 

Penny shook as she teared up. 

“What’s...what’s going to happen to us?” She said, 

Sammy sighed. “This is all my fault, if I had never convinced you guys to leave the cave in the first place, we never would have gotten caught. I’m sorry guys.” 

“All three of us are at fault. We’re all responsible for this,” Penny said, “not only did we get ourselves trapped…” She then gestured her hand over to Juliet who was sitting on the dirt ground leaning up against the fence. 

“...We’re also responsible for Juliet getting captured as well...” She finished, 

Juliet sighed. “It’s okay. We’ll find a way out of here.” She said, 

“How will we do that? There's no way! These collars are designed to shock us if we try to escape. Plus, there are guards everywhere. They won't let us just walk out of here. It's hopeless.” Squirrel sighed, 

Juliet then sadly looked down at the ground and then up at the sky. 

“Please...someone help us…” She whispered, 

“Hey.” A voice said out of nowhere, the four kids looked around confused until they noticed a guy sitting across the pen. He looked like a jittery man. He was in rags and he had a shock collar on too. 

“Uh...hi,” Juliet said trying to remain cautious, “Who are you?” She asked, 

“I'm Rory, who are you?” The man replied, 

“I'm Juliet, and this is Penny, Squirrel, and Sammy. 

“Nice to meet you.” He said, 

“What are you doing here?” Squirrel asked him, 

Rory replied, “Isn't it obvious? I'm a slave too.” He said, 

“You're a mungo. Mungos can be slaves? Juliet questioned him, unlike the other residents of “Little Lamplight”, Juliet never really used the term “mungo”. Now that she did, it was a little weird. 

Rory nodded, “Yeah, don't worry. I'm cool.” He said, 

“Do you know how we can get out of here?” Penny asked him, 

He just sighed, “Little lady, that's what I've been trying to figure out for the past few months now...only a miracle will get us out of here…” 

It was now nighttime in the Capitol Wasteland. The air was still, and the mutcrickets were chirping. 

MacCready stood watch at the guard post just staring ahead of him, his sniper rifle strapped to his back and his focus sharp. It was now a little past nine O’clock at night. He honestly didn't know why he was standing there. Was he nervous for the other “Lamplighters”? Was he doing this because it was his duty? Or was he just hoping that his friends would walk right into the settlement as if nothing happened?

He really missed the four of them, he just wanted them to come back unharmed. 

The boy was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Lucy come up behind him. 

“Hey.” She said sadly, she was heartbroken too. 

MacCready was startled when she spoke up but then calmed down when he saw her. 

“Oh, hey Lucy.” He said somberly, 

“You okay?” She asked him, 

“Yeah. You?” He asked, 

Lucy nodded, “Yeah, thanks.” They went silent for a moment. 

“You should take a break. You've been standing here for hours.” Lucy said, 

He whirled around to face her. “No! I'm staying right here.” He said suddenly, he turned his back to her while she sighed. 

“MacCready, standing here hoping isn't going to bring them back.” She said, the young mayor hesitated before replying. 

“...I know…I’m just worried is all…” He said, 

The ebony-haired girl put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Me too…” She said, he turned to her with tears in his eyes. Lucy now had tears in her eyes as well. The two of them threw their arms around each other and began to cry. 

“This is my fault.” He cried into her shoulder, 

“How is it your fault?” Lucy asked crying as well, 

“I shouldn't have let them go out there. I'm the leader, I'm supposed to protect everyone. I feel like I'm responsible for this happening!” 

The twelve year old mentally kicked himself for not seeing this coming, he shouldve known it would happen, he should've went out with them, he could’ve saved them from being captured. 

“MacCready, it wasn't your fault. This stuff happens.” Lucy said trying to console him, 

“But I could've been there, I could've stopped those slavers!” He replied, 

“Or you could've been caught. It's a good thing you're here, we wouldn't know what to do without you.” Lucy said, 

The two of them didn't say anything after that and just held each other tight crying even more. 

The next day, the settlement of “Little Lamplight” remained quiet. It wasn't the bright vibrant place that it normally was. 

MacCready woke up from his sleep at the guard post. After he and Lucy cried their hearts out, he had stayed there all night and eventually passed out. He rubbed his tired eyes and stood up groggily and continued to stand guard. What happened next was something that he was not expecting. 

A young man in his late teens, possibly nineteen entered the cave. He had dark hair and hazel eyes. His chiseled features caught in the lights that hung from the ceiling. He donned a blue and yellow jumpsuit. The yellow numbers on the back read: “101”. The young mayor knew clearly who he was. 

He was a Vault dweller. 

The guy cautiously approached the gate. 

“Hold it right there, Mister! Don't take another step or we’ll blow your fucking head off!” MacCready yelled to the stranger, 

The young man just put his hands up in defense. “Whoa, whoa, easy there. I'm a friend.” He assured him, the young mayor wasn't buying his shit. He folded his arms across his chest. 

“You're big and I don't have any big friends. You better just go out the way you came in…” He threatened, 

The young stranger sighed and rubbed his temples. It was obvious that he wasn't in the mood for games. 

“Look kid, I really need to get to Vault 87. Do you know where it is?” 

“Yeah, I do. But it's through “Little Lamplight”, and you're not getting into “Little Lamplight”. Guess you gotta find another way, mungo.” He said, 

“Come on, what can I do to get you to trust me?” The man asked, 

“Why should I trust you? I've got no reason to. You mungos are nothing but trouble! I ain't letting what happened to Sammy and Squirrel happen to anyone else!” 

Chelsea heard MacCready yelling at someone and headed up to the guard post to see what was going on. 

“Hey dude, what's going on?” She asked, she then noticed the stranger. Her eyes widened. “Who's this?” She asked, 

“Stay back, Chelsea. He's a mungo. Like the ones that took Sammy and Squirrel and the others. He was just leaving.” MacCready replied. 

The young Vault dweller spoke up. “Wait, what happened to Sammy and Squirrel?” He asked, 

MacCready looked back to him giving him a death glare. “They, Penny, and Juliet got themselves caught, by mungos just like you...Slavers from “Paradise Falls”. I told them to be careful, but they didn't listen to me. Juliet tried to keep an eye on them but the slavers got her too.” 

“Hold up! What if I go get your friends? Then will you let me in?” The teenager asked, 

“No I-wait...you'd do that?” MacCready said taken aback, Chelsea grabbed his shoulder and pulled him off to the side for a moment. 

“MacCready think about it. He could go get Juliet and the others back. It's perfect!” She whispered. 

“I don't know, Chelsea. What if it's some sort of trap? What if he's one of them?” MacCready asked her, 

“He looks legit to me,” The raven-haired girl replied, “besides, I miss them, you miss them, we all miss them. He could bring them home to us.” Chelsea added, the twelve year old thought for a moment. He couldn’t argue with that logic. They turned back to the stranger. 

“Maybe...if you bring them back, I MIGHT let you in.” He said still unsure of whether or not to trust this young man, 

The teenager nodded. “Consider it done.” He said, he then turned and headed back out the way he came and disappeared. 

Chelsea looked to the young mayor curiously, “Do you think he'll pull it off?” She asked him, MacCready just sighed. 

“I hope so…” Was all he said, 

Back at “Paradise Falls”, Juliet and the others, with the help of Rory, were trying to plan their escape. 

“Okay, I've done some thinking, and I think I know of a way to get us all out of here.” Squirrel said, 

“You have a plan? Lay it on us.” Juliet relied, 

“Okay, as far as I know, that Euology guy has a terminal in his house, it can open the gate and turn off the shock collars.” He explained, 

Sammy nodded in understanding, “Okay, and how do we get to the terminal?” He asked, 

Squirrel just scratched his head in thought, “Uh...that's something I'm still working on.” He replied sheepishly, 

“We’re doomed.” Penny said face-palming, 

Forty walked up to the pen and opened the gate door. 

He looked to Rory. “Hey you, big guy, we need you to go scrape the brahmin dung!” He ordered, 

“No!” Rory snapped, 

“What did you just say to me!?” Forty said raising his voice, it was obvious that he was mad now. 

“No I won't scrape up the Brahmin dung! You have no power or control over me and I demand that you let these poor children go! Now!” He yelled, 

Forty just smirked and pressed a button and the shock collar around Rory’s neck gave a burst of electricity and shocked the poor man bringing him to the ground. Forty entered the pen and picked up Rory’s limp body lugging it over his shoulder. 

“That's it, it's “The Box” for you!” He said angrily, he took him over to an old preservation chamber and threw the man inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it up with a key. He looked back at the kids, “Let this be an example,  
Kids. This is what happens to slaves who cause trouble in these parts!” He threatened, 

The kids just watched in fear as Forty walked away laughing again. 

The young vault dweller entered “Paradise Falls” with ease, that and five hundred bottlecaps. He looked around the location feeling a little out of his element. After spending years in the Vault, he had never seen a place like this before. 

He walked around scanning the area until his eyes fell on a certain pen full of kids. He ran over to it and whispered, 

“Hey, are you the kids from “Little Lamplight”?” He asked, 

Sammy looked up, “Yeah. Are you here to rescue us?” He asked hopefully, 

The teenager nodded, “Yes, your leader sent me to come get you.” 

Juliet blinked in surprise. “RJ sent you to come help us?” She said, she then looked down at the ground and smiled. “Son of a gun.” 

“Okay, so do you guys have a plan to get out of here?” The teenaged Vault dweller asked them, 

Squirrel nodded, “Yeah. There's a terminal in the boss man’s pad, hack the terminal and I'll be able to get these collars off of us and the gate door will open.” He explained, 

The guy nodded, “Got it.” He said, he turned to head for Euology’s pad when Juliet stopped him. 

“Wait! Who are you?” Juliet asked him, 

He turned back to her smiling. “My name is Albert. But uh...some people call me the “Lone Wanderer”.” He replied, 

Juliet smiled back and nodded, “Well, it's very nice to meet you, Albert. I'm Juliet.” She said, 

Albert gave her a nod and headed for Euology’s pad. 

Juliet the looked to Penny who was standing on the other side of them pen. 

She walked over to her. “Come on, Penny. We're getting out of here.” She said, 

“No, I'm not leaving without Rory.” She said sternly, 

The blonde blinked. “Rory? Why?” She asked, 

“He stuck up for us! We can't just leave him here.” The tan girl replied, 

“I’m sorry, Penny. But we gotta leave him, we gotta go.” Juliet apologized, 

Penny folded her arms across her chest and huffed. “Then I guess you'll just have to leave without me.” She said, 

A few minutes later he came back. 

“I got in and I managed to distract the guard. You're free to go.” He said, he opened the gate so they could leave. 

“Great! There’s a drain pipe in the bathroom that we can all fit through, except for you of course, mungo.” Squirrel said, 

“Penny’s not coming.” Juliet said, everyone looked to her with wide eyes. 

“What!? Why not!?” Sammy asked, 

“She says she’s not leaving without Rory.” Juliet replied, 

“Aww no! She's gone sweet on him!” Squirrel whined, “Great! Freaking fantastic!” He yelled sarcastically, 

“Maybe I can try and talk to her.” Albert offered, 

“You can try but I don't think she'll listen.” Squirrel said, then he and Sammy ran out of the pen leaving Albert and Juliet. 

Juliet smiled and took his hand in both of hers and gave it a pat. “Thank you so much.” She said, 

Albert smiled, “No problem.” He replied, the young blonde scavver then ran off with the others. Albert approached Penny who was still staying put. 

“Penny come on, you gotta get out of here.” He urged her, 

Penny glared at him, “I told them I'm not going! I'm not leaving Rory!” She replied, 

“Okay look, what if I get him out? Then will you go?” Albert asked her, 

“Yes,” Penny nodded, “Forty should have the key. You'll have to pickpocket from him to get it.” She explained, 

“Not a problem.” Albert said, he left her and a few minutes later came back with Rory. 

“Rory! You’re okay!” Penny exclaimed happily,

“Now come on! Let's get you out of here!” Albert encouraged, the three of them ran out of “Paradise Falls”. Albert tried to keep them hidden until they finally reached the exit. Rory thanked Albert for saving him and they bid the man goodbye and went to go meet with the others. 

“Penny! You're okay!” Juliet exclaimed, she ran over to her friend and hugged her tightly. She then looked to Albert. “Thank you so much, sir!” She said, Albert just smiled again. 

“You're welcome, Juliet.” He said, 

“You're the best mungo ever!” Sammy yelled, 

“Yeah, stop by “Little Lamplight” sometime and visit us, alright?” Squirrel added, 

Juliet then turned to her fiends. “Well, let's go guys, we got a long walk ahead of us…” 

The four of them and their new friend headed back for “Lamplight Caverns” ready to go home. 

Albert reentered “Lamplight Caverns” smiling. MacCready and Chelsea were still standing at the guard post and the twelve year old perked up when he saw the nineteen year old boy. 

“You again? I told you to get lost!” He yelled, 

Albert smiled, “Guess who I got?” He said teasingly, out from behind him came Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny. 

Both the brunette boy and the raven-haired girl’s eyes widened upon seeing their friends safe and sound without a scratch. 

“Guys! You're okay!” Chelsea yelled from the top of her lungs, while she was celebrating her friends’ safe return, MacCready’s eyes were scanning around for one particular person. 

Then through the cave’s entrance came a familiar blonde girl. 

His and Chelsea’s eyes widened. “JULIET!” Chelsea yelled, MacCready pulled the lever to open the gate and the large gate opened and they both ran down from the guard post towards the others. 

Juliet saw them running towards her. She smiled, “Hey-.” Was all she had a chance to say before Chelsea encased her in an extremely tight hug. The young blonde was taken aback by this sudden action but smiled. 

“Whoa there, miss me much?” She said, 

MacCready looked to Albert. He smiled. “I guess your okay after all, mungo. You can come in, but you better not piss me off.” He warned him, “Come on in and I'll show you the way to the Vault.” He then lead the nineteen year old away while Chelsea stayed with her friends to continue their happy reunion. 

“You really scared us, Jules. We thought you guys were gone for good!” Chelsea cried, Juliet just hugged her friend back. 

“Well, we’re back. It's good to be home." Juliet replied,


	9. Chapter 8: "A Perfect Gentleman"

To Juliet and the others, it felt good to be back in “Little Lamplight” again. The scare in “Paradise Falls” really changed everyone. MacCready created a new rule that if anyone was to leave the cave, to be sure that they had a weapon on them. Everyone thought that this was a little extreme, but then again, it beats getting locked up in a cage by slavers. 

The mentioned mayor noticed Juliet talking to some of the other girls about what happened in “Paradise Falls”. He hadn't really gotten the chance to tell her that it was good to have her back. He really missed her when she was gone. 

But then he remembered what Zip said to him about liking her. What he told Zip was true, he really did only like Juliet as a friend. But apparently everyone else thought otherwise. He debated on whether or not to go talk to her, now she and Chelsea were with a bunch of other girls about girl stuff and he was worried that if he told her how much he missed her, the other girls would get the wrong idea. So he waited until the girls walked away and it was only Juliet, Chelsea, and Penny remaining. He walked over. 

“Hey girls.” He said, they turned to him smiling. 

“Oh! Hey RJ!” Juliet replied, “What can I do for you?” 

The young mayor rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Listen...I uh..I really missed you when you were gone. It's good to have you back.” He told her,  
Juliet blinked once in surprise, he missed her? She felt her cheeks go pink from the flattery. 

“Aww, that really means a lot, RJ. Actually...I kinda missed you too…” She said, 

MacCready was taken aback by what she said too, but before either of them could say anything else, Lucy came over. 

“Juliet I wanted to talk to you about-.” She stopped dead when she saw the young mayor. Her cheeks instantly went red and she fiddled with a strand of her black hair. “...Uh...h-hey, mayor…” She stuttered nervously. MacCready’s face went red as well. 

He cleared his throat. “Uh...hey, L-Lucy…What’s up?” He asked, 

“Nothing much, I just wanted to talk to Juliet really quick.” Lucy replied, 

He nodded, “Oh, of course.” 

Lucy then looked to Juliet. “Listen, I just wanted to thank you for the medical tools that you found. I cleaned and fixed them up and so far they have been of great use.” She said, 

Juliet shot her a wink. “No problem.” 

“You seem to be getting better at being a medic, huh?” MacCready spoke up again,  
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Lucy blushed, 

“Well, I hope I get seriously sick or something.” MacCready joked, 

Juliet, Chelsea, and Penny didn't laugh and Lucy just gave an uneasy laugh and smile. 

“Haha...yeah...well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. See you guys later.” The young medic turned to leave but turned back to them again. This time she was looking at MacCready. 

“See ‘ya around, RJ.” She said, then without another word, she walked away. 

MacCready just stared after her while Juliet and Chelsea eyed him strangely. 

He groaned, “Ugh that was stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” He continued to curse and complain at himself while the girls just stared. 

“What was that all about?” Chelsea spoke up, 

The twelve year old was broken out of his trance and looked to his three friends like they were crazy. “What are you talking about?” He asked, 

“What happened between you and Lucy just there. You two were blushing and stuttering.” Juliet pointed out, 

“Yeah, then you totally floundered out.” Penny nodded, 

Suddenly her and Chelsea’s eyes widened. 

“Oh my god…” Chelsea said, 

“...You like Lucy!” Juliet continued, Penny’s eyes widened when she heard that. 

“Shhh!” He shushed them so that no one would hear that. He then sighed defeated. “Okay yeah. I admit that it would be nice if she thought of me that way. But shit, I don't know the first thing about girls.” He sulked, 

“What if we help you?” Penny offered, 

MacCready perked up. “Really? You'd do that?” 

“Of course! We're your friends after all! Besides, Lucy is a very nice girl, you two would be cute together.” Juliet said, 

“However, there is a lot to know in order to impress a girl,” Chelsea added on, “You have a lot to learn.” 

He nodded. “Okay, where do we start?” 

They went to Chelsea’s room and shut the door. Juliet and Penny made themselves at home on the bed while Chelsea and MacCready stood in front of them. 

“Okay, the first thing to charming a girl is to know how to talk to her...To help you practice this, we're going to do a simulation…” The raven-haired girl looked to Juliet. “Juliet…” She gave her a “come hither” motion and Juliet obeyed. She stood up and Chelsea moved aside so that she was now standing in front of MacCready. 

“Okay dude, pretend that Juliet’s Lucy…” Chelsea said, 

“Wait wait, hold up! How come I’m Lucy?” Juliet asked her friend, 

Chelsea shrugged. “‘Cause I sure as hell ain't doing it!” 

“No this is crazy! We're just friends! It'll just be weird!” Juliet replied, 

MacCready put a hand on Juliet’s shoulder. “Come on, Juliet. I really need your help.” He begged, 

The blonde looked at him and sighed. “Okay.” 

“Alright, now RJ, I want you to speak to her how you would speak to Lucy.” Chelsea instructed, 

“Okay, uh...h-hey Lucy.” He said awkwardly,  
Juliet felt extremely uneasy. She nervously fiddled with her hair. 

“Uh...Hey, RJ…” She said, 

“Now pay her a compliment.” Chelsea encouraged him, 

“Oh right, uh...you-you look nice today, Lucy.” 

Juliet smiled weakly, “Thank you.” She said, 

“Okay, that was good. Maybe lose the stuttering and you should be good. Now, you need to know how to charm her. Say something flirty to Juliet. Try to charm her.” Penny instructed, 

MacCready looked at Juliet and hesitated before speaking. “You must be a radstag. Because you’re certainly a deer.” 

Chelsea and Penny cringed st how bad that was. 

“Moving on.” Penny said, 

“Next we're going to try interests. If you're going to be in a relationship, you need to see if you both like and dislike the same things. You can have a few differences but you would want to have a lot of the same interests of you want the relationship to thrive.” Chelsea explained, 

MacCready nodded, “Right.” 

“Here's what we’re going to do. You and Juliet go walk around for a bit and try to find some interests between you two. Penny and I will keep close watch of your progress,” Chelsea said, “Try to talk to Juliet about something that you both like. You can tell her your interests, but be sure to care about hers too.” 

“Okay.” MacCready replied, he then took Juliet’s hand and left the room with her. “Let's go, Juliet.” 

They walked for awhile and talked about stuff kids talk about until Juliet suggested that they hang out someplace in the cave. After thinking about where to go they finally settled on MacCready’s room. As they went up the stairs it felt like dejâ vu. She hadn't been in his room since the night they met, she still couldn't believe how much time had flown. 

They entered his room and he flicked on the light revealing the typical bedroom of a twelve year old boy. There were posters on the walls, the bed was a mess, and there were clothes on the floor. 

Juliet shook her head. ‘He needs to really clean up after himself.’ She thought, 

“So...what do you wanna talk about?” Her mayor friend spoke up, 

Juliet shrugged, “I don't know.” She replied, Juliet’s eyes nervously darted around the room. This was stupid, why did she have to do this!? This was just too weird! She was about to turn to leave, she was out of there, she was done. 

But that was when she noticed something on the nightstand next to his bed. It was a “Grognak the Barbarian” comic. 

“Whoa!” Her eyes widened and walked past him. “What’s this?” She asked picking it up, 

The young mayor smiled sheepishly. “Oh yeah, that's my comic book. I like to look at it every now and again.” 

The dirty blonde then opened the cabinet on the nightstand. She was taken aback to find the cabinet contained a huge stack of the old comic books. 

“Whoa! Look at all of these! There must be dozens of comics in here!” Juliet said in wonder, she turned to him surprised. “You're a comic book geek?” 

He still kept his sheepish smile and shrugged, “What twelve year old isn't am I right?” He replied, 

“Are these ALL yours?” She asked him now amazed, 

He smirked, “That's only one of the places where I keep them.” 

“Whoa, who knew you were such a dork!?” Juliet joked, they could then hear a snicker on the stairs. It wa obvious that Chelsea hear about him being a comic geek and she thought it was funny. The snickering was then followed by a sharp slap and an “Ow!” They then went back to talking. 

“You like them too?” MacCready asked, 

Juliet nodded, “To an extent. I like a bit of Grognak, a few of “The Unstoppables”...but what I really like is “The Silver Shroud”.” She said, 

“Oh yeah, I've heard of “The Silver Shroud” but I've never listened to any of the episodes. Would like to though.” MacCready replied, 

“Oh it's amazing! Probably the best radio show I've ever heard! When I still lived with my parents, we actually had all of the episodes on holotape. I grabbed them and the holotape player at the house before we all came back here." She then proceeded to strut to the other side of the room. 

“When evil walks the streets of Boston, one man lurks in the shadows. Shielding the innocent, judging the guilty. That guardian is…“The Silver Shroud”!” She said impersonating the announcer that spoke at the beginning of every episode, MacCready laughed at how funny she was sounding right then. Juliet started laughing too. Finally they calmed down. 

“Sounds like a great show.” MacCready said, 

Juliet nodded, “The best. Feel free to come to my room if you ever wanna listen to them with me.” She offered, Juliet went back to what they were talking about before. 

“So like, do you have every issue of Grognak?” The scavver asked him, 

He shook his head. “No, I'm still missing issue #357.” He said slightly frustrated, 

Juliet perked up, “Issue #357!? You mean the one where Mastadonald and Skullpocalypse team up to defeat Grognak!?” She questioned him, 

He nodded, “Yep. That's the one.” 

“Hold on! Stay right there! I'll be right back!” Juliet said suddenly very excited, she ran out of the room and hurried down the stairs. MacCready was confused as to what she was doing. About a minute or two later, she came running back into the room with something in her hand. 

She held the thing up for him to see. “Is this the one you're looking for?” She asked him smiling, 

MacCready’s eyes widened upon seeing the comic book that she was showing him. 

He nodded, “Holy crap! That's it! Juliet where did you find this!?” He asked her, 

His blonde-haired friend just smiled, “I found it on one of my scavenging searches a while back. Found it in an abandoned house not far from here. I've already read it a few times. It's really good.” She handed him the comic book so that he could see it. His normally serious personality instantly turned off and switched to that of a normal twelve year old’s as he flipped through the pages. For a comic that was over two hundred years old, it was still in pretty good condition. 

“Jules, this is amazing!” He exclaimed, “I've been looking for this one for ages but could never find it!” 

“Then it's yours.” Juliet beamed, 

He looked up at her with his eyes wide. “No...Juliet this is your comic, I couldn't take it from you.” He said, 

Juliet shook her head, “Nope, I insist, it's all yours. Consider it a thank you gift.” 

He quirked an eyebrow. “‘Thank you’ gift? What for?” 

“For letting me stay here, you didn't have to let me in, you could’ve just turned me away and left me out there to starve, caught by those slavers, or get eaten by a deathclaw...but you didn't, you reached out for me...you saved me…This place is amazing, it feels just like home. It's the least I can do.” She explained, 

He was taken aback, this was so kind of her to do. He gazed into her dark blue eyes allowing himself to get lost in them. 

“Th...Thank you, Juliet…I appreciate it. I'm...glad you like it here.” 

She winked, “I love being here.” 

“You're sure about giving this to me?” He asked her again, he wanted to make sure that she was certain about giving it up. 

Juliet nodded. “Take it, I've read it too many times to count. I probably have it memorized by now. Besides, it's the best gift for my best friend.” 

MacCready smiled at her. Then something crossed Juliet’s mind. She grabbed his hand. 

“Come on, I wanna show you something.” She said, she then dragged him out of the room and down the stairs past Chelsea and Penny who were eavesdropping. 

“Where is she taking him?” Chelsea asked Penny,

“Wait! Where are we going?” He asked her, Juliet didn't reply. They ran through the tunnels and over a few bridges until they reached a certain tunnel. 

She turned to him. “Okay, what I'm about to show you is kinda a secret. Before I show you, you have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone.” 

The twelve year old didn't say anything. Instead he just nodded. 

Juliet walked into the narrow tunnel once again dragging him with her. It was so dark, he didn't know where they were going. Until Juliet pulled him into a small cavern filled with shining blue gems. 

He looked around in awe at the amazing sight. He looked at Juliet who just smiled. 

“This is my special place. I come here sometimes when I want a little peace and quiet. Penny was the one who actually found it, but she shared it with me when I first came here. Now it's your place too…” She said, 

MacCready smiled at her. “So, is there anything else I need to know?” He asked her, 

Juliet nodded, “Yes actually…” She said, “When you love someone, you need to show them that you care. Actions speak louder than words.” 

“How do I show Lucy I care about her?” He asked, 

“Well, you could be around her a lot, you can hold her and talk to her softly, hug her. Or, if you're bold enough, you can even...kiss her…” Juliet finished blushing, she tucked a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face as more hair fell on the other side. 

Should I practice that?” He asked, 

“I guess so. But I mean, since it's me that you're practicing with...let’s stick with a hug…” She replied still blushing, 

MacCready gave a nod and got closer to her and used a hand to brush the blonde hair out of her face. As his thumb grazed her cheek, Juliet could feel her face getting warm. They just stared at each other under the glow of the blue gems. Their eyes locked onto one another. Juliet felt her chest tighten and heart start to pound.

She was then surprised when he put his arms around her back in a really heartfelt embrace. He squeezed her tight almost like he’d lose her if he let go. His body was warm and she liked it. Juliet returned the embrace. Her soft but firm arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders as she rested her head on his left shoulder. 

But before anything could happen, MacCready pulled away from her. “We should get back to the others.” He said, Juliet blinked once. “Erm...okay.” She said, 

They exited the small cave and rejoined Chelsea and Penny who were smiling proud. 

“Congratulations dude...you're ready.” Chelsea said, 

“I'm ready? Cool!” MacCready said, 

“There she is.” Penny pointed out, they looked in the direction of which she was pointing to see Lucy walking by. 

“Well what are you waiting for!? Go get her!” Juliet urged, 

“Oh man, thanks guys. I owe you for this. Especially you, Juliet.” He said turning to his friend, 

Juliet smiled and waved him off. “Nah, don't mention it. What are friends for?” She said, 

“No really, you don't know how much this means to me. I could kiss you, Jules.” He told her, 

Juliet’s heart stopped when she heard that. But before anyone could notice she shook it off and put on a smirk. 

“Hey, save it for Lucy.” She joked, he laughed, 

Taking a deep breath he walked over to Lucy while the other three just stayed back pretending that they weren't watching. 

He approached her nervously. “Hey Lucy.” She whirled around to face him, her cheeks going pink. 

She smiled, “Oh hey, RJ. How are you?” She asked, 

“I'm good. You?” He asked her, 

“Oh you know, just the usual same ol’ same ol’.” She replied, 

“Can I tell you something? Was your mom a ghoul? Because you are a real glowing one.” He said, 

Chelsea and Penny face-palmed at the bad pick-up line while Juliet softly giggled at it. 

Lucy giggled as well. “Wow, that's a good one,” She said, “Listen uh...I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I shouldn't have walked away from you, I know it was just a joke.” She apologized, 

“No, it's fine. Really. It was pretty stupid.” MacCready stopped her, “The truth is Lucy, I really like you. You're nice and intelligent and I like that about you. I know you probably don't feel the same and it's fine if you don't Do you think we could…you know…“hook up”?” He asked her, 

The ebony-haired girl’s eyes widened. She stared at him mouth agape and didn't say anything. 

Assuming he failed, MacCready turned to leave when she grabbed his arm. 

“Wait, hold on a sec.” She said, he turned back to face her. 

She blushed some more and twirled her black hair around her finger. 

“I erm...I actually kinda like you too. Sure, we can “hook up”.” She said, 

He just smiled relieved, “Okay, cool. So we're like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?” He asked, 

She gave him a flirty look in the eyes. “Do you wanna be?” 

“Yeah. Absolutely.” He replied nodding, 

The young medic giggled at his nervousness. “Okay then.” She then surprised him with a kiss on the cheek, his eyes widened and she just walked away. “See you, new BF.” She waved, 

He just stood there completely in shock as his three friends walked up to him. 

“Wow, you did it! You got her to like you! Could've gone without the pick-up line but still…” Chelsea said, 

“Oh don't listen to her, you were great.” Juliet complimented him, 

“Thanks Juliet, couldn't have done it without you.” MacCready replied, 

Juliet smiled and blushed, “You’re welcome.” 

“Is there anything that I can for you for helping me out?” He asked, 

“Well...actually there is something…” Juliet said, “After I got caught by those slavers from “Paradise Falls”, I realized that I don't want to EVER have to go through that again. So, I need to learn to defend myself. I need to learn how to fire a weapon.” 

“Where do I come in?” He asked, 

“RJ, you can fire a gun better than anybody here! If going to learn, I'm gonna need a teacher. I need you.” She said, 

His face just brightened up. “Okay, you've got yourself a teacher. When do you wanna start?” He asked, 

“In a few days. You should spend some time with your new girlfriend.” Juliet teased, she punched his arm playfully while he just laughed and blushed. 

“Okay then,” He replied, “It's a deal.”


	10. Chapter 9: "How To Survive...Love?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, something BIG happens!!! ^^
> 
> Also, the songs are "Issues" by Julia Michaels and "FOOLS" by Troye Sivan

The twelve year old and the eleven year old entered the shooting range ready to start practice. 

“Alright Jules, I’m gonna teach you how to shoot. The first thing you need is a proper gun.” He then handed her a gun, not just any gun though, it was his sniper rifle. 

Juliet was confused. “Why are you giving me your rifle?” She asked him, 

“I learned how to shoot with this gun and I became a natural. Maybe it’ll have the same effect on you too.” He replied, 

Juliet nodded to let him know that she understood. 

“Okay, the first thing you need to consider when wielding a weapon is to hold it right,” MacCready told her, “For example, how you're holding your gun right now is not the right way to do it. Here, let me show you.” He grabbed hold of her arms and positioned them the correct way. 

“Hold it like that, keep your shoulders hunched and your elbows lowered.” He instructed, he then took a step back. 

Juliet nodded and shakily looked to the target not far ahead of her. She wasn't sure that she could do this. 

MacCready noticed her nervousness. He understood how she felt, he was there at one point.   
“Juliet, relax. You're going to be fine.” He walked over and stood right next to her so close that their cheeks almost touched. Juliet blushed a little bit. 

“Now, what you need to do next is look through the scope and focus on your target. Imagine that it's only the two of you, that there's no one else. Don't focus on anything but your target…” Juliet looked through the scope of the sniper rifle aiming for the center, she was still shaking however. 

“Keep calm and focus…” He told her, Juliet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Shakily she put her finger on their trigger, opened her eyes and pulled it sending a bullet flying past the target. 

“Aww man!” She groaned, 

“Don't worry, that was only your first try. Don't give up, I'll help you.” MacCready urged her, he got close to her again, this time close enough that his cheek touched her cheek and she could feel the twelve year old’s heartbeat thumping slowly in his chest. He took her arms to position them correctly again. 

“Focus…” He said, 

Juliet looked through the scope again and focused on the bullseye. But she hesitated to pull the trigger. 

“...I know you can do it…” He whispered in her ear, Juliet suddenly felt a bolt of courage go through her and she pulled the trigger again, this time the bullet struck the outside of the target. 

“I did it! Well, sort of.” She said, she then looked at MacCready who was smiling at her. 

“Good. You were closer that time. Maybe the third time will be the charm. Remember what I told you...focus…clear your mind…pretend I'm not here...it's only you and the target…” 

Juliet closed her eyes for a second in an attempt to clear her mind, she then opened her eyes again and focused on the target and pulled the trigger. She sent the bullet flying and it struck the target in the bullseye. 

A wide smile crack on her face. “I..I did it! I did it, RJ!” She yelled happily, she then looked over to see him smiling too but those smiles slowly faded for they noticed that their faces were only centimeters apart, their lips nearly touched. Deep almost dark blue eyes stared into bright icy blue ones, their faces slightly turned red, 

Juliet’s face got more red and hot and her heart began to thump loudly in her chest like a drum. His eyes looked as if they were staring right through her, it wasn't until then that she realized how...beautiful they were. They were like two bright blue orbs that glistened in the light of the lights strung up in the caverns like the light of the sun shimmered on ice. She looked into them and she could see his true emotions. He was tough, no doubt about that. But as she gazed into his eyes, the dirty blonde could see the softer, more sensitive side of him that he always tried so desperately to hide. Beneath all that roughness was a boy that was alone, alone and frightened. This didn't really surprise her, eyes were the windows to the soul after all. At least, that's what her mother told her. She felt his heartbeat picking up speed going from a slow rhythmic tune to a more fast-paced thumping which made her blush deepen and her own heart beat faster. She was confused. Why was she like this? It's not like she was in love with him or anything. They were just friends, plus, he was Lucy’s guy, She only wondered what he was thinking then. 

MacCready couldn't move, he couldn't think, it was as if he was frozen in ice or turned to stone. He was just as confused and nervous as Juliet was. He stared into her dark blue eyes that were deep like the ocean and could hold a secret if they had one. Her baby soft hands were still in the hold of his rougher more calloused ones. He could smell her favorite perfume on her neck and the Nuka Cola on her breath and he had to admit, they were pleasant smells. He could see her true emotions in her eyes too. He also felt her heartbeat speed up. 

Not really sure of what to do, he backed up from her. Juliet lowered the sniper rifle from her aim at the target and blinked a few times to clear her head. 

The young mayor cleared his throat. “Well, erm...I think that's enough practice for today.” He said, 

“But, we just started.” Juliet said sounding slightly hurt,

“I know...but I just remembered. I erm…I have sentry duty…” He replied, 

“Oh…” Juliet said understanding, 

“But we can continue training tomorrow...okay?” He asked her, 

Juliet pulled on a fake smile and nodded as she handed him back his gun. “Okay.” 

MacCready smiled back and left the shooting range leaving Juliet all alone. 

Juliet mentally kicked herself and cursed under her breath at her stupidity. For one minute she looked like a total fool in front of him. 

‘What is WRONG with me!?’ She thought to herself, it was just like the other day when she showed him her and Penny’s secret cave. The weird feeling in her chest had returned. Deciding to not think on it further, Juliet retreated to her room where she locked the door, turned on the radio, and laid down on her mattress. 

Whenever she was stressed out, music was always her escape. It was also her weakness, that along with animals and sweets. Something about it seemed to help her mind wander. She just adored how every song seemed to take her someplace new. Juliet loved all genres of music, even the classical music that the other kids in “Little Lamplight” found to be boring. She had a pretty nice singing voice but she never used around anyone and she knew decent enough guitar but of course, like singing, she never played around everyone else. As she listened to the steady pop/rock music that Three Dog was playing, she felt the mixed emotions flee from her mind. 

_I'm jealous, I'm overzealous_  
When I'm down, I get real down  
When I'm high, I don't come down  
I get angry, baby, believe me  
I could love you just like that  
And I could leave you just as fast 

_But you don't judge me_  
'Cause if you did, baby, I would judge you too  
No, you don't judge me  
'Cause if you did, baby, I would judge you too 

_'Cause I got issues_  
But you got 'em too  
So give 'em all to me  
And I'll give mine to you  
Bask in the glory  
Of all our problems  
'Cause we got the kind of love  
It takes to solve 'em 

_Yeah, I got issues  
And one of them is how bad I need you…”_

When the song was over, Juliet decided that she liked the song. Luckily for her, the song came on again right after that and she recorded it on a holotape to the best of her ability so she could have it to listen to later. After that, she listened to some of the 50’s and 60’s classics that the radio also played at times until she finally turned off her radio to get some sleep. She flicked off the light and closed her eyes while wrapping herself up in her blue blanket. It wasn't long before she finally drifted off to sleep. 

The eleven year old awoke a few hours later and exited her room rubbing her eyes adjusting to the bright lights in the cavern. 

She then remembered about what happened earlier between her and MacCready. She didn't understand why she was so worried about it. It meant nothing, he was with Lucy and she was fine with that, there was nothing between them and she was just being paranoid. 

Speak of the devils, Juliet then noticed her mayor friend talking to Lucy. He told her something that must've been funny because it made Lucy giggle. 

Juliet smiled at them. She just loved seeing them so happy. But then after a few seconds, her smile faded. She then saw Lucy giving MacCready a kiss on the cheek causing him to blush. 

Juliet didn't know why, but she suddenly felt really bad for seeing that. The weird feeling showed up in her chest again and it only seemed to get tighter and tighter. It was almost as if she was…

...Jealous…?

‘No WAY am I jealous!’ She thought to herself, not wanting to see anymore, she headed to Chelsea’s room. 

“Maybe Chelsea’ll know what's wrong with me…” She said quietly, 

“So Jules, you feeling okay? You don't look so good…” Chelsea asked her friend, she was leaning up against her beaten up dresser sipping on a Nuka Grape. 

Juliet, who once again made herself at home on the mattress, sighed and replied, “Not really, Chels...Since earlier today I've been feeling really...off…” 

Chelsea took another sip of her grape soda. “‘Off’ how?” 

“Well, it started when I was at shooting practice with RJ...” Juliet began, 

Chelsea instantly stopped her. “Say no more...I know exactly what's wrong with you…” She said, 

The blond perked up. “You do?” 

The raven-haired tween nodded. “Yep, sure do….You're nervous about holding a gun, don't worry, Jules. I was nervous at first too but trust me, you'll get used to it in no time.” 

The young scavver shook her head. “I don't think that’s it…” She replied, 

“Aww come on, Jules! If it's not that then what else could it be!? You were nervous about the practice right?” She asked her, 

“Yes.” Juliet nodded, 

“And as far as I know you didn't do as well as you'd hoped...right?” Chelsea asked again, 

Juliet sighed looking down at the floor in shame. “That's true…” 

“So the session must've been terrible, huh?” Chelsea added, 

“Well...not really…” Juliet took a deep breath before continuing. “RJ helped me improve my skills...it was like, I wasn't afraid to fail, because I knew that he was there to support me, and support me, he did. With him there, I was a lot less jittery. I kind of felt…“safe” and “comfortable”...do you know that feeling, Chelsea?” Juliet asked her friend,

The spunky black-haired orphan just took one huge swig of her Nuka Grape while she thought about this...finally she replied, 

“...No…” She said plainly, 

“Wow, you're a real help.” Juliet said sarcastically, 

“I try,” Chelsea replied with sarcasm as well, she placed her Nuka Grape on the dresser and turned to face her friend again. 

“So, what do I do?” Juliet asked, 

“I’m sure it's nothing, Juliet. You're just overreacting. I suggest that you sleep on it.” She said, 

The dirty blonde nodded. “Thanks, you’re the best, Chelsea.” She hugged her best friend who hugged her back. 

“Hehe. No problem, Jules.” She said, 

Juliet said goodnight to Chelsea and headed back to her room. She laid back down on her mattress and fell asleep once again. 

She woke up the next morning looking absolutely miserable. Before she went to sleep, she spent hours tossing and turning before her body finally shut down. With her bag slung over her shoulder, Juliet trudged towards the gate for another day of scavenging. 

“Morning Juliet.” A voice said, Juliet winced. She recognized that voice. She turned to see Lucy walking towards her and MacCready was with her. 

She put on a smile and waved to them. “Hey Lucy. Hey RJ.” She said, 

“You okay?” Lucy asked, “You look sick.” 

Juliet waved her off. “It's okay, Lucy. I'm fine.” 

“You sure, Jules? You look terrible.” MacCready pointed out, 

Juliet’s face was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes that were bloodshot and she looked as if she was going to throw up. 

Juliet waved him off as well. “Trust me RJ, I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with me.” 

“I can easily fix you right up if you're not well.” Lucy offered, 

“No that’s not necessary,” Juliet said, she then looked back to her mayor friend. “By the way, we shouldn't do practice today.” 

MacCready blinked once. “Why?” He asked her, 

“Because, I have a lot of scavenging to do. I don't have time.” She lied, she wanted to do everything in her power to make sure the odd feeling wouldn't sprig up for the third time. She realized that the best way to get rid of the feeling was to stay as far away from MacCready as possible. It was going to be hard considering he was one of her best friends, but she had no other option. 

MacCready, who actually looked kind of hurt, put on a poker face for her and replied, “Yeah, I guess so…Tomorrow maybe?” 

Juliet nodded, “Maybe.” She then turned and left in an obvious hurry blushing madly. 

“Hmm...she certainly is acting funny.” Lucy said to her boyfriend, 

The twelve year old mayor nodded. “Yeah, wonder what's wrong with her?” 

After a full day of scavenging, Juliet returned to “Little Lamplight” with a full bag and was even more tired now than when she left. She dropped her stuff off at the scavenging station and headed for her room. She laid down on her soft mattress and reached over to turn on the radio. Another new song was playing and once again, she really liked it. 

_“I am tired of this place, I hope people change_  
I need time to replace what I gave away  
And my hopes, they are high, I must keep them small  
Though I try to resist I still want it all

_I see swimming pools and living rooms and aeroplanes_  
I see a little house on a hill and children's names  
I see quiet nights poured over ice and Tanqueray  
But everything is shattering and it's my mistake 

_Only fools fall for you, only fools  
Only fools do what I do, only fools fall  
Only fools fall for you, only fools  
Only fools do what I do, only fools fall…”_

As the song continued to play, Juliet’s mind constantly wandered to MacCready. How she was feeling odd around him and how things were getting so damn complicated. The stupid feeling in her chest wouldn't go away. She hated it. 

‘Ugh! Why won't this feeling go away!? It's ruining my life and my friendship with RJ!’ Juliet thought, 

‘...What if you two are more than friends?’ A voice asked in her head. 

Juliet's eyes widened at that. She shook her head slowly. ‘No...no we couldn't be…’ She thought, 

It was then that the song that was playing went back to the chorus. 

_“Only fools fall for you, only fools  
Only fools do what I do, only fools fall  
Only fools fall for you, only fools  
Only fools do what I do, only fools fall…”_

She could then hear her friend’s voices. 

_“Aww come on! You're always defending him! If I didn't know any better I’d say you were in love with him.”_

_“Come on, Jules. You really expect us to believe that you don’t have feelings for him at all?”_

_“It’s so obvious, Juliet, you like him, there’s nothing wrong with that…”_

A lot of memories flashed inside her mind. How he was when they first met, the fact that he was worried about her when she was kidnapped by the slavers a few weeks ago, how he was willing to help her when he normally wouldn't do it for anyone else. 

...The conversations they had…

...The way he looked at her… 

...The way he made her laugh…

_“Only fools fall…”_ The song finished, 

Then it her. Everything suddenly made sense and the answer hit her like a lightning bolt. Juliet sat straight up. Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it!

“...I'm a fool…” She said quietly, she got up and turned off the radio and dashed out of her room. 

‘I need to find Chelsea…’ She thought, 

She finally the reached her best friend’s room and rapped on door. 

“Chelsea! Chelsea!” She called out, the door slowly opened to reveal Chelsea who looked like she had just woken up from being asleep. 

“Juliet? What do you want?” She asked rubbing her eye with her fist, 

“I need your help!” Juliet said urgently, “I’m a fool! A complete fool! What do I do!? What do I do!?” 

Chelsea’s tired eyes widened. “Whoa whoa, Juliet! Calm down...You said you're a fool? Why? What are you talking about? What's wrong?” She asked, 

Juliet looked her friend in the eyes desperately. 

_“...I think I'm in love with RJ…”_


	11. Chapter 10: "Saying Goodbye"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: This chapter might make some people cry...or not! XP

Four years later

Juliet, now fifteen years old, sighed with contentment as she ran her fingers through her hair enjoying the warm water coming from the shower. 

It felt so good to finally have clean water. 

After Albert A.K.A “The Lone Wanderer”, saved her, Penny, Sammy, and Squirrel from “Paradise Falls”, he went through “Little Lamplight” to get to Vault 87 to get something called a G.E.C.K to install into this water purifier thing that he was building for the Capitol Wasteland. According to what he told her and the others, it was designed to purify thousands of gallons a second so that way the Capitol Wasteland would have clean water everywhere. Juliet had NO idea what a G.E.C.K was or how it worked, but she was certainly glad that it did work, for now everyone had clean water. Shortly after the purifier was turned on, some of the kids in “Little Lamplight” managed to install pipelines and connected them to the bathrooms. “In-cave plumbing” they called it. Now they could shower or wash their hands without having to heat up water over a fire, they could have it with just one turn of a knob. 

Shortly after obtaining the G.E.C.K, he bid them all goodbye and left for D.C. He was told by MacCready that he was allowed in anytime. 

He had became one of their closest friends. 

Juliet frowned thinking about Albert, they hadn't heard from him in a while and she hoped that he was okay. He seemed to get along with all of the kids in “Little Lamplight”, her especially. When he would come and visit, he would play around with her and they'd talk about comics and fun stuff like that. He felt like the big brother that she never had. 

She turned the knob to shut off the water and stepped out of the small shower. She wrapped her hair and body in some old towels and went over to one of the broken mirrors to look at herself. She had gotten taller and her body blossomed into a good hourglass-like figure. Her blonde hair was now longer going down to her butt. It also managed to darken to a light brown as she aged but she didn't mind. Her deep blue eyes still remained beautiful. Overall, she was still the beautiful girl that she always had been. Smiling at her reflection, she quickly slipped on an old T shirt and a pair of ripped up jeans shorts with brown combat boots. She ran a brush through her sopping wet hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. 

She exited the bathroom feeling completely refreshed. The scavver walked through the cave settlement of “Little Lamplight” and smiled as she looked around. Everything was the same, aside from the “in-cave plumbing” and the newly replaced lights, not much had changed. 

She walked past the medical bay where she saw Lucy giving one of the younger kids a check up. 

“Okay, now say, “Ah”.” Lucy instructed sweetly, 

Lucy was now even more beautiful than she was before. Heck, she was the prettiest girl in the entire settlement. Princess often claimed that Lucy couldn't be the prettiest girl in the settlement because she herself was. 

Juliet rolled her eyes as she thought of the many times Princess had said that. 

Unfortunately, Lucy and MacCready broke up a few years ago. It happened because MacCready was so torn between being in a relationship and leading an entire settlement at the same time. The obligation became so great that he barely had any time for her at all. It hurt them both but they knew that it was for the best and they still remained good friends. 

She continued on until she reached the eating area where she grabbed a bite to eat. It wasn't like they had much, all they had was cave fungus. Juliet thought that it was kinda gross but it sure beat starving to death. Plus, it was an excellent remedy for radiation. So that was one other less thing for them to worry about. 

Before he left, Eclair was the one who tried to make the weird cave fungus taste good for them, and for the most part it did taste fine. But after he left, his replacements didn't even give a damn and just served it to them straight up raw with no moderations whatsoever. 

She sighed sadly as she took a bite out of her fungus cube. She really missed Eclair, sure he did some stupid stuff like break the basketball hoop that they had for a little while, but overall he was one of her favorite people. 

In fact, a lot of the other older kids had gone. They all became mungos and had to either leave for Big Town or go off into the wasteland on their own. 

The blonde was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice Chelsea and Princess walk up and sit down at the table across from her. 

“Hey.” Chelsea spoke up, 

Juliet jumped a little but calmed down when she noticed who it was. 

“Oh, hey Chelsea, hey Princess.” She said somberly, 

“Is something wrong? You don't look good.” Princess pointed out, while she was still the snarkiest kid in the settlement, even snarkier than MacCready, she had learned to be a little nicer and greatly cared for her friends’ well beings. 

Juliet sighed. “Yeah, I guess so...It's just…a lot of the kids that we used to know are gone and...I don't know...I kinda miss them.” 

“Hey, what's going on?” A cute voice asked, they all turned to see Lucy walking up. 

“Hey Lucy, we were just talking about everybody leaving. How we've lost a lot of friends.” 

Lucy sat down next to Julie on her left. She patted Juliet’s arm. “Oh yeah,” She said sadly, it was obvious that she missed them too. “Don't worry Juliet, I’m sure they're fine.” 

“I know, but...losing them was one of the hardest things I've ever endured...I hope I never have to go through that again.” Juliet replied, 

“Hey, is everything alright?” Another voice asked, they then noticed MacCready walk up also. Like the others, he had grown too. He was a lot taller than when he was younger and his brown hair had grown some too. Of course his voice deepened some but not a lot. He took the seat to Juliet’s left. He looked to the blonde rather concerned. 

“Hey Mac n’ Cheese!” Chelsea greeted him, 

MacCready groaned, “Chelsea, I told you to stop calling me that! It's MacCready! MA-CCRE-DY!” He annunciated, “Not Mac n Cheese!”

“I know, but I like how it irritates you.” Chelsea replied giving him an impish grin, 

MacCready just rolled his eyes and turned his focus back to Juliet. 

“Juliet’s upset about our older friends being gone.” Lucy explained, 

“Why? They’ve been gone for ages?” He asked shrugging, 

“It doesn't matter how long it's been, it still hurts.” Juliet said, 

“Aw come on, Jules. I know that rule sucks but it's the way it has to be. Do you think I like throwing them out?” MacCready asked her, 

“Yeah because you're a cold-hearted son of a bitch.” Chelsea joked, he shot her a glare. 

“Shut up.” He replied, 

“It's not just that that's bothering me. Guys, we’re not too far off. We're all fifteen years old. Before we know it, we'll be cast out into the harsh world to fend for ourselves. It's scary.” Juliet said, 

The fifteen year old mayor just patted Juliet’s back. 

“Don't worry, Jules. We're still here, and we’re not leaving for a while.” He told her. 

She smiled at him which made him feel good inside. He hated to see her down. 

Lucy stood up. “I’d better get back to work. I'm glad you feel better, Juliet.” She then turned and left. Princess followed soon after to go back to her job. It was now just Juliet, MacCready, and Chelsea. The three of them sat silent for while, none of them were really sure of what to say. 

Eventually MacCready stood up too. “Well, I gotta go too. Duties.” He said now sounding bored, he headed out of the eating area. “See ‘ya later, losers.” He said jokingly, 

“See ‘ya Mac n’ Cheese!” Chelsea taunted, 

He just groaned at the nickname again causing both girls to laugh. 

Both Juliet and Chelsea watched him go until the raven-haired girl noticed her blonde friend staring after him smiling with a hint of fondness on her face. 

Chelsea smirked. “So, have you told him yet?” She asked, 

Juliet looked to her friend blushing. “Told him what?” She said confused, 

“Have you confessed your eternal genuine love for him yet?” She asked her, 

Juliet’s face got even redder. “Well, I...no…” 

It had been four years since Juliet accepted that she was in love with MacCready. At first she thought it was only a silly crush that eleven year olds like her would have from time to time. But now, she was fifteen and her feelings still remained real and strong. It was official, this was no ordinary crush, but full on real love. The only person that she had told about it was Chelsea, nobody else knew but her. When she told Chelsea that night, she was of course surprised, but it didn't take long to see that Juliet really cared. Plus, she loved seeing her best friend so happy. She decided to be happy for her. 

Juliet wanted to tell him so badly how she felt, but she chickened out every time. She could never bring herself to tell him the truth. Shortly after she realized that she loved him, she kept it hidden for Lucy’s sake knowing that it would probably hurt her. Then after she and MacCready broke up two years ago, Juliet still didn't tell for she was afraid that it would ruin the relationship that they had already. He was her best friend and she didn't want to lose him because of it. So she kept her mouth shut. 

Chelsea felt bad for her, she tried telling Juliet to just tell him. Whether he felt the same or not, she would feel a lot better afterwards. But Juliet refused to. Chelsea decided to take matters into her own hands and decided to drop hints onto MacCready that Juliet was into him. But of course, being so focused on leading and never once considering that she felt that way, he never knew. 

“Come on, Jules. You gotta tell him eventually.” Chelsea urged her friend once more, she didn't care if it was the hundredth time she's told her, she was going to try again anyway. 

“No way,” Juliet said, “We’re just friends. He doesn't feel that way about me, he only sees me as a friend. It's not what he wants.” 

“But it's what you want.” Chelsea replied, 

Juliet sighed helplessly nodding, “Yes.” 

“You do love him, don't you?” Chelsea asked her, 

“With all my heart.” Juliet answered with a weak smile, 

“Then tell him.” Chelsea encouraged, 

“I don't think I can.” Juliet said, 

“Sure you can, all you need to do is look the freak in the eyes and tell him how much you care.” Chelsea replied, 

“Thanks, but I think I'll just keep it to myself. Juliet assured her, she finished off the rest of her fungus cube and downed some of her purified water and headed for a certain place in the settlement. 

Juliet gazed her opponent in the eye, poised and ready to attack. 

Scout, standing not ten feet away from her, focused on her as well. Suddenly she charged at her but the blonde was too quick for her. She lifted her blade and blocked the attack from her sharp metal weapon. 

She just loved sword fighting practice. As it turned out, she was much more of a swordsman than a gunslinger. Even though he was a great teacher, MacCready’s lessons in how to use a gun didn't quite work out. Juliet just couldn't get it right. MacCready didn't really blame her, he understood that guns were not her forte. They may had been the perfect weapon for him, but not for her. But luckily for Juliet, Scout introduced her to sword fighting not long after. She decided to give it a try, and after a few lessons, she was a natural. She was getting better at it every week she trained. Scout was very impressed with her progress. 

She lunged at her but the now light brunette was too fast for her. She blocked her attack again and they struggled their swords against the other’s until they backed up. 

Juliet struck Scout’s sword out of her hand and knocked her to the ground and pointed her sword at her to rendering her completely defenseless. 

Scout smiled. “Very good, Juliet,” She complimented, Juliet helped the readhead up and gave her back her sword. “I'm impressed.” 

“Thanks Scout.” Juliet gleamed, 

“Well, that ends practice for us today,” Scout said, “Keep practicing.” 

Juliet nodded and bid her teacher good day and headed for her room. Once there, she pulled out one of her “Silver Shroud” holotapes. She popped it into her tiny holotape player that she kept by her bed. The player and the holotapes were from her parents. When she went home and realized that they weren't there, she took the holotape player and the tapes so that she could have something to remember her old home by. 

She listened to her favorite episode of “The Silver Shroud”. She had listened to it about a dozen times, but she never got sick of it. She’d always listen with intrigue as if it was the first time that she was hearing it. It was the episode where the mayor was murdered so “The Silver Shroud” and his partner, the “Mistress of Mystery” had to figure out who had done it. 

After a while she heard a knock at the door. She flicked the switch to the holotape player off and went to open the door. The one standing behind it caused her to smile. 

“Hey Juliet.” 

“RJ, come on in.” Juliet gestured inside, the fifteen year old boy entered the room and took a seat on the floor while the very dirty blonde closed her bedroom door and sat down beside him. 

“What episode are we on?” He asked her, 

Once a week, he would come to her room to listen to “The Silver Shroud” tapes with her. Juliet had already listened to them all, but MacCready still had some catching up to do. Usually they just listened but if he didn't understand something, Juliet would explain it to him. 

“We’re on episode #215 I think.” Juliet said, 

“Oh yeah, “Where we left off, “The Silver Shroud” was captured by “The Mechanist”, right?” He asked her making sure that he had his facts straight. 

Juliet nodded, “Yep, now it's up to the “Mistress of Mystery” to save him. Let's pop it in.” She took the holotape out and put the next episode in. 

_“When evil walks the streets of Boston, one man lurks in the shadows. Protecting the innocent, judging the guilty. That man is…“The Silver Shroud”! Tonight’s episode: “The Daring Escape”!”_

They listened to the episode with intrigue and emotion for the main character. They were thrilled as the holotape player produced sounds of fake gunshots and explosions as they imagined their famed and beloved hero in black make his daring escape with the help of the “Mistress of Mystery” and his sidekick, “Rhet Rhineherdt”! Juliet blushed for she knew of a certain scene that was coming up. 

_““Silver Shroud”! My good friend! Thank heavens that you're alright!”_ “Mistress of Mystery” yelled over the radio, 

_“Yes, but I wouldn't have made it out if it hadn’t been for you, my dear...”_ The Shroud replied, 

Juliet began to blush horribly, she was dreading this scene. 

_“Although you saved me, what you did was very dangerous...you could've been killed! Why did you do it!? Tell me!”_ The Shroud yelled dramatically at the fine lady, 

_“...I did it because...I care about you a great deal. We have endured many obstacles, many challenges side-by-side, there have been times where escape was impossible, and yet we've always made it through together. Without you, I'm nothing...Agh! Listen to me! I'm sounding like a fool!”_ The actress playing the “Mistress of Mystery” sounded like she was embarrassed. 

_“But you mean a great deal to me too, my fair lady. You have always stuck by me, you know me like an open book, you...are my best friend…”_ The Shroud replied,

_“Oh “Silver Shroud.”_ “Mistress of Mystery” swooned, 

Juliet blushed madly as she teared up. This scene got her every time. 

MacCready looked over at her noticing that she was crying. “Whoa, you okay?” He asked her, 

Juliet smiled and sniffed as she wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that this scene always gets to me.” 

He just smiled at her which made her heart stop for a split second and he patted her back, “It's cool, I don't judge.” He then went back to listening to the episode. Juliet looked off in another direction not really paying attention to the episode anymore. She was now blushing even more and her face was hot, but it wasn't from crying or being embarrassed, it was because of her crush on MacCready and the fact that they were having this nice moment together made her feel this tingle in her heart. 

She looked over at him again. He was so focused on the show that he didn't notice her staring at him. 

Not really knowing what she was doing, she took his hand in hers and held it tight. 

She looked up to see his reaction, but he had none. He just stared ahead still listening to the radio show. At this point, the two main leads were telling each other that they loved one another. Juliet did not remove her hand nor did he ever remove it for her, Juliet couldn't help but smile. After a while, she removed her hand out of the fear of it being too weird. Neither of them said anything and they just continued to listen. 

When the show finally ended, they both stood up cracking their backs from sitting on the hard floor for so long. 

“What'd you think?” Juliet asked him, at the end of every episode, she'd ask MacCready how he felt about it. Sometimes their opinions would differ, but for tonight’s episode, they both agreed. 

MacCready nodded his head in approval. “That was a good one. Thanks again for letting me listen to it with you,” He thanked her, “I love listening to these.” 

“No problem, I'm glad to have you.” Juliet replied, she then looked over at the clock she kept on her dresser. It read: “9:30 p.m” 

“Oh wow, is it that time already!?” She said, “I gotta go to bed. I have an early start tomorrow.” She said, 

The teenaged mayor nodded. “Yeah, same here. We’re good to watch the next episode next week?” He asked her, the scavver smiled at her friend. “Of course.” 

She gave him a friendly arm punch goodnight and closed the door to her room blushing and beaming like there was no tomorrow. Sighing she flicked off the light and headed over to her mattress and laid down and went to sleep. 

The next morning, Juliet woke up around six thirty. She had another long day of scavenging. 

The fifteen year old girl groaned under her blanket and pillow as she heard her alarm clock screaming at her to get up. She got up from her mattress and went over to the dresser and slammed her hand down on the button to make it shut up. Rubbing her eye with her fist, Juliet flicked on her bedroom light as her eyes squinted trying to adjust to the bright lights. 

She pulled on her jeans along with an old T shirt and a jean jacket. She exited her room, bag in hand and headed for the front gate. She went scavenging from seven to ten and she came back with a full bag as always. She began to tiredly lug it towards the junk station when MacCready caught her eye. He looked down about something. 

Juliet smiled and waved. “Hey RJ!” She called out, MacCready looked in her direction. His expression didn't change. It remained serious. He then looked away from her as if he was pretending that he didn't see her. 

Juliet was confused. “What's wrong with him?” She said to herself, not thinking about it anymore, she headed for the junk station to drop off her findings. 

For the next week things were becoming weird. MacCready was making himself more and more distant. He spent a lot less time with her and the others, he didn't make eye-contact, hell, he barely even talked to them, and it was just getting worse. His friends could not figure out what was wrong with him. 

“I'm telling you, Chelsea. There's something wrong with him. He's become so distant.” Juliet told her friend, 

“I know, check this out,” Chelsea said, she then yelled to MacCready. “Hey! Mac n’ Cheese!” 

MacCready only looked up at Chelsea for a minute. Like before his expression didn't change. He just went back to what he was doing before. 

“Isn't that weird?” Chelsea asked her friend, 

Juliet nodded, “Yeah, that's really strange.” 

“Shh! Shh! Here he comes!” Chelsea yelled in a whisper. 

MacCready walked towards them as they pretended to act as if they weren't just talking about him. 

“Hey girls.” He said, 

Juliet hesitated, “...Hey RJ…” She finally spoke, 

“Listen, I think we should skip on “The Silver Shroud” tonight.” He said somberly, 

“What!? But we always watch it on Thursdays! We’re on episode #216!” Juliet told him, 

He just sadly shrugged and shook his head. “Sorry, Jules.” He then turned and walked away leaving Juliet and Chelsea stunned. 

“Okay, that is it. There is something wrong with him!” Juliet said angry from being ditched. 

“No shit, what do you think is wrong with him?” Chelsea asked her, 

“I don't know, but I'll find out. One way or another...” Juliet replied, 

Later on that night, way past the time she normally went to bed, Juliet tossed and turned on her mattress as she worried about MacCready. She hated to see her friend act like this. She just wanted him to be the way he was a week ago. 

MacCready zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He made sure he had everything he needed, only taking his sniper rifle, some food, and the things that he absolutely couldn't live without. He sighed looking around his room. He flicked off the light and headed down the stairs to the ground level of the settlement. Only a few of the other kids were up and about still while everyone else had gone to sleep. 

MacCready walked through “Little Lamplight” trying to not look to suspicious. He then passed by a very familiar room. His heart sank. 

It was Juliet’s room. 

The door was closed so he knew she was sleeping. This was good. This was the way he wanted it. 

He didn't want her or any of the others to know. 

He opened her door a crack only letting a small break of light enter and peered into the dark room. Juliet was sleeping soundly on her mattress. He smiled at the smile that she had on her face as she slept. 

...He was really going to miss her... 

He closed the wooden door and turned to head for the gate. When the kid on guard duty noticed him, he told him that he was going out for a walk. The guard nodded and opened the gate so the fifteen year old could go through. He walked through the tunnels and out the door to the caverns, eventually he was out in the open wasteland. The night was young and the moon was still not quite positioned in the middle of the sky. 

He began to walk away from the cave but stopped and turned to it again looking and feeling absolutely miserable. He turned again and was about to start walking when…

“What are you doing out here?” A voice said, 

MacCready froze. He recognized that voice anywhere. He turned to face the voice. It was a very familiar person. They had their arms folded across their chest and were giving him a serious look. 

“Juliet.” He said nervously in a desperate attempt at trying to keep cool, 

“What are you doing out here?” Juliet repeated, “It’s cold out here, you could get sick.” 

He just turned his back to her. “I'll be fine, I'm just going for a walk. Go back to sleep.” He said softly, 

It was then that the young scavver noticed her friend’s full backpack. “That’s a pretty full bag for just a walk. Where are you going?” 

He turned to face her again. He had tears in his eyes, this took Juliet by surprise. She had seen him cry before, but not like this. He looked like he was about ready to cry his heart out. 

“RJ, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?” She asked him suddenly concerned, her seriousness now gone. 

He let out a shaky sigh. Then he spoke. 

“...It's my birthday, Juliet…” Was all he said, 

Juliet’s eyes widened and she began to smile. “Oh right! I totally forgot that it’s your birthday!” She ran over to him and encased him in one of the tightest hugs she had ever given anyone. 

“Happy Birthday, RJ!” She said, 

MacCready didn't say anything. He softly pushed her away from him. “No Juliet…” He hesitated before finishing. He sighed again. 

“...It's my sixteenth birthday…” 

The words pierced through Juliet’s heart like a sword. It felt as if time had stopped and her entire world was crashing down around her. Her eyes widened and her chest tightened. Tears began to fill her dark blue eyes and she began to shake. 

She slowly shook her head. “...No...no, no, no, this-this can't be real…” She fell to her knees hugging her body and sobbing. She looked up at MacCready with read tears eyes. 

“...You're a mungo…” 

He sadly nodded, “I am. So now, I have to go.” 

Juliet stood up abruptly and pointed an accusing finger at him. 

“How can you leave us like this!? From what I hear, you are the greatest leader this settlement’s ever seen! I need-I mean, WE need you! RJ, you can't go…” she said, 

MacCready could only watch her as she yelled and cried. It destroyed him to see her so broken up, but this was the way things had to be…

This was life. 

“I thought we were all always gonna be best friends. It's always been all of us and now you’re leaving! This is exactly what I was afraid of! I knew that this was going to happen! I knew it was wrong to fall for…” She trailed off, she had just almost reveal her crush. MacCready just gave her a confused look as she tried to find some way to hide it. 

“...To fall for...what you said, about none of us leaving for a long time! How could you lie right to my face!?” Juliet scolded, 

The new mungo shrugged again, “To be perfectly honest, I forgot that it was almost my time. I remembered when I heard some of the other kids talking about it. They thought it was horrible that I’m leaving since I'm such a good leader. Because of this, they were actually thinking of bending the rules a bit for me so I could stay here longer.” He explained, 

“Then do it! Stay here!” Juliet begged him, he shook his head. “No! Don't you see!? I don't want the rules to be bent for me! When I became mayor I didn't really want all that praise, it was just something that came with it. I hated it when people obeyed me, when they were intimidated by me, I wanted respect, sure, but I wanted to be treated just like everyone else in the settlement. So as far as I'm concerned, the rule applies to me too.” 

“But it wouldn’t be the same without you! We still have to finish listening to “The Silver Shroud” together!” Juliet cried, 

“I'm sorry, Juliet..but it is what it is...I have to go…” He replied somberly, 

Without even thinking, the dirty blonde threw her arms around him again squeezing him even tighter than the hug before. 

“...But I'll miss you…” She whimpered, in response held her extremely close to him and stroked her darker hair. 

“Don't miss me, I'm not worth crying over.” He replied trying to make a joke so she would smile, but Juliet was still sad. Then Juliet pulled away from him smiling. 

“I know! I'll go with you! We can be a team! You and me, traveling the Capitol Wasteland together!” She said perking up,

To MacCready, that actually didn't sound like a bad idea. It would be cool to have a partner to travel with, and he liked Juliet so she wouldn't be much of a nuisance. But he knew very well that it was not safe for her to go out there. She had become a lot stronger since they first met, but the wastelands were dangerous. He didn’t want her to get herself hurt or killed out there because of him. She couldn't come with him. 

“No Juliet. I will miss you too. But you don't belong out there, you belong in there, with everyone else.”

“But what about you?” Juliet asked concerned,

“Don't worry about me, I'll be alright.” Juliet continued to cry as the tears poured from her eyes. He used his thumb to wipe some of them away and used his other hand to lift her chin so she was looking him straight in the eyes. 

“Juliet, I need you to look at me, look at me and listen…I need you guys to take care of yourselves. Take care of each other and stay out of trouble the all of ‘yas.” He told her, “You got it?” 

Juliet just sobbed in response. “Juliet, do you understand me?” He repeated, he grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her a little, after a few seconds she slowly nodded. 

He nodded too. “Good…” Was all he said, he stared Juliet in the eyes and she stared back. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he surprised her when he leaned in and kissed her cheek. He backed up and Juliet was still in shock. He just chuckled at her and began to back away from her. He couldn't take it, seeing Juliet begin to tear up again broke his heart. He knew that there was only one thing left to say. 

“...Goodbye…” He said softly, 

Juliet snapped out of her trance and just waved trying so desperately to smile even though it was obvious that she was upset. 

“...Bye…Good luck.” She replied, 

He gave her a nod and turned his back to her and began to head Eastward towards Megaton. 

Juliet watched with a heavy heart as her best friend left her behind. 

“...Goodbye, RJ...…I love you…” She said quietly, 

Juliet stood there watching him go. She was so tempted to follow him but she knew that’s not what he wanted for her. She waited until he was fully out of her view and then turned and headed back into the cave. 

“Man, I can't believe he's gone…” moped Zip, 

“I know, one of our best friends...” Penny replied, 

“I don't believe this! How could he leave us!? How could he leave ME!?” Princess yelled, “I swear if he ever shows his face here again, I will shove my boot so far up his ass he won't sit right for a week!” 

Squirrel turned to Chelsea. “Juliet still hasn't come out of her room yet?” He asked her, 

The raven-haired tomboy just shook her head helplessly. “Nope, hasn't left all morning. She won't even leave to use the bathroom.” She replied, 

“Poor Juliet. She's taking this the harder than the rest of us,” Sammy said, “Well, we'd better start searching mayor’s room.” 

The small group of friends began to search the now sixteen year old’s old room. They searched the dresser, the bed, everywhere. He only left behind his army helmet and a “Grognak the Barbarian” comic. 

“Did you guys find anything?” Lucy asked the others, 

“No, nothing.” Sammy shrugged, 

Squirrel turned the old dirty army helmet over in his fingers, the goggles were still there as well. He looked himself in the mirror and smiled putting MacCready’s old helmet atop his head. He turned from side to side admiring the look. 

“Hey, I look pretty good mayor’s old helmet.” He said with approval, 

Chelsea loved up from her search and glared at the kid with the shaved hairdo. “Squirrel, take that off.” She scolded him, 

Squirrel nodded now intimidated by Chelsea. “Okay.” He said, he took the helmet off without any further arguments. However, when he took the helmet off of his head, a folded up piece of paper fell out and landed on the floor in front of them. 

“Hey wait a minute, what's that?” Lucy asked pointing at it, Chelsea picked it up and unfolded it reading it over. As she read, her eyes widened and her lips slowly parted. Noticing their friend’s concern, Zip spoke up. 

“Chelsea? Are you okay?” 

She looked up at them still surprised. 

“...We gotta find Juliet…” She said, 

The seven of them ran down to Juliet’s room. It was locked and they could hear sad music playing on the other side. 

_“Why does my heart go on beating? Why do these eyes of mine cry? Don't they know? It's the end of the world. It ended when you said goodbye…”_

Juliet lay curled up on her mattress with the lights off and the radio playing sad songs. She had stopped crying but it felt as if her heart had been smashed into a million pieces and couldn't be glued back together. She felt horrible, she cried for MacCready, she just wanted him to come back and things would be the way they were before. But she knew that it was just wishful thinking. 

MacCready wasn't coming back. 

He was gone. 

Chelsea rapped on the door. “Juliet, open up.” She said, 

There was no response. 

She decided to try again. “Juliet, please open up. I wanna talk to you.” She said, 

It was then that they heard Juliet’s faint muffled voice. 

“Go away.” She said, 

The seven teenagers looked at each other sadly. 

“Please Juliet, come on out. We miss him too. But it's okay, at least we're still here together.” Chelsea said, 

There was silence. After a minute, they heard the door unlock and it opened up revealing Juliet who looked completely miserable. 

“What do you want?” She asked, 

“Listen, we need your help. With RJ gone, we have no one to protect us. “Little Lamplight” needs a new leader.” Lucy explained to her, 

Juliet nodded, “Okay, who do you guys think should lead?” She asked, 

Chelsea then held out the paper that they had found. 

“Well, according to RJ, you are…” She said, 

Juliet’s eyes widened and she took the note from her other best friend’s hands. She began to look it over. 

_“My fellow Lamplighters,_

_I am sorry to say that I must leave “Little Lamplight” and head out into the real world. I leave Juliet in in my place of power. Everyone must listen to her and follow her leadership without argument._

_She knows what she's doing.”_

_—Mayor MacCready_

Juliet looked back up at her friends still surprised. None of them said anything, they were pretty shocked too. No one knew what to say until Zip broke the silence. 

“Well, we’re ready to let you lead...mayor…” He said, 

Juliet shook her head, “No, I couldn't be, this is-this is crazy! I'm not leadership material!” Juliet exclaimed, 

Penny gestured down to the note. “Well, apparently mayor thought different of you…” 

Juliet couldn't say anything, this was just so much to take in. 

“We’ll leave you alone so you can gather your thoughts,” Penny said, “Oh, I almost forgot, we also found this in mayor’s room as well…” She then handed Juliet the Grognak comic that he left behind and proceeded to shop everyone else leaving Juliet on her own again. 

Juliet sighed as she felt her already broken heart break even more. 

“It's the comic that I gave him.” She said softly to herself, she began to flip through the pages and stopped when she noticed that in between two of the pages there was another note. She took it out and unfolded it. This one looked a lot more personal. 

_“Juliet, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I need you now more than ever. I need you to look after them, protect them, I know you can do this...Make sure that what happened to me and all of the people who have left before us not happen to anyone else...you know what to do…I am trusting you with this great responsibility because I know you, Juliet. You’re different than anyone else I've ever met. You are beautiful, compassionate, intelligent, witty, independent, and overall a good friend. No one else has ever treated me with such kindness as you have, no one else has known me so well before, no one besides you has ever made me feel...well, like I had a true friend…someone to lean on...I am eternally grateful for that…_

_I hope someday our paths cross again…”_

_—RJ_

Juliet felt tears well up in her eyes as she hugged the letter close to her chest. She knew what she had to do. 

“Everyone gather around!” She called out, she was standing at the guard post and all of “Little Lamplight’s” citizens came over to see what their new mayor wanted. Chelsea made her way through the crowd and went up to the guard post to stand next to Juliet. 

“What is this about, Juliet?” Chelsea asked her friend, 

Juliet now smiled for the first time since MacCready left. 

“...You'll see…” She said, she then looked to the crowd. 

“Everyone! For over two centuries, this cave has kept us safe from the dangers of the outside world. Here, we survive…

...But is that living?”

The kids either scratched their heads or looked at each other shrugging trying to answer that question. Juliet continued, 

“The answer is no. It's not living. While I strongly respect the rules that have been laid down for centuries, I believe that it is time for a change…” Everyone was now confused as to what she meant by that. 

“...My first decree as your new mayor, is that the age limit is now completely dissolved! You may leave if that's what you feel you must do, but you do not have to leave. You may stay.” 

Everyone in the crowd gasped and murmured amongst themselves. 

One kid spoke up. “But what about food and space?” He asked, 

“Yeah! Won't we become overcrowded?” Another kid questioned, 

Juliet just smiled, “That's a very good question. The answer is simple, we leave the cave.” 

The crowd gasped again, 

“Now, before any of you begin questioning me or saying it's a bad idea, let me explain. All of us know how to survive, we have doctors, engineers, cooks, and security, we can all wield a weapon for crying out loud! If we have been able to survive in here, then who says we can’t survive out there? Besides, we can't stay here forever, we have to leave eventually...But if we’re going to leave, then let's leave together. We can even get the kids from Big Town to join us and we can forge a settlement so mighty, so strong! You may think that those people have changed, but no, they are still our brothers and sisters, and as such we must all stick together! My fellow Lamplighters, let us rise up!” She finished raising her fist in the air triumphantly, 

The crowd went silent, none of them knew what to say. Until Chelsea broke the silence. 

“I agree with our mayor…” She said, then Lucy, Penny, Princess, Sammy, Squirrel, and Zip all joined her on the guard post. 

“I second that notion.” Lucy smiled, 

“Me too.” Squirrel said, 

“Us three.” Penny said for herself and Princess, 

“Me four.” Zip nodded, 

“Us five.” Sammy and Squirrel said together, 

Suddenly, all of the kids looked to one another and nodded and began to cheer. 

Juliet smiled at everyone. She had done it. She had single-handedly changed an entire settlement. She looked down at the silver locket that MacCready had given her shortly after they met. It was hanging from her neck and rested on her chest. She took it in her hand and opened it and smiled at what was inside. 

They were all going to be okay.


	12. Chapter 11: "A Few Years Later"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter's kind of boring one, but I had to write it to establish what life is like for the "Lamplighters" now that Juliet had gotten rid of the age limit and moved them out of the caverns. But the ending is really interesting, I can promise you that much ;)

**2 ½ Years Later**

Daybreak was near as the sun began to rise and a two headed rooster crowed in the distance. 

A modest settlement in the middle of the “Capitol Wasteland” laid silent as the morning was officially slowly came. It was a city of large pitched tents and towards the settlement's West end, a flag waved on a post in the soft autumn breeze. 

“Lights of D.C.” 

After hearing the rooster’s crow, some of the tents opened and out came the citizens of this great community ready to start another perfect day. 

A familiar tan-skinned girl with long wavy black hair exited her tent giving a stretch and a yawn. She walked over to the blacksmith who was already pounding away at a strip of metal. He was making it into the shape of a sword. He took the hot metal and carefully dunked it into a barrel of water causing steam to rise up out of the barrel. 

“Good morning, Squirrel.” The lady said, 

The now eighteen year old man looked up at her. He was taller and well built and still had his shaved haircut. 

“Morning Lucy,” He replied smiling, “Gorgeous morning, isn't it?” He asked her, 

The medic nodded, “It is...Tell me, what are you making?” She asked him, 

He pulled the sword out of the barrel. It shined as it caught the light of the morning sun in the long sharp blade. 

Squirrel looked down proudly at his work. “It’s for Madame Mayor,” He replied, “A brand new sword. A perfect birthday gift!” 

Lucy’s smile widened. “Oh yeah, Squirrel it's wonderful! I just know she'll love it!” She said approvingly, 

“I hope so,” Squirrel then put it in a leather scabbard and tucked it away under the workbench to save for later. “But remember, it's a surprise, so keep it a secret.” He told her, 

Lucy nodded, “Okay. Where is Juliet anyway?” Lucy asked him, 

Squirrel shrugged and shook his head. “I don't know, maybe she's still asleep.” 

Juliet slept soundly in her tent.  
Her dark blonde borderline light brown hair was a complete mess and drool dribbled down her chin. 

She turned over on her mattress enjoying the nice warm feeling of her blue blanket that she still owned and until some sunlight seeped through the fabric walls of the tent and shone in her face. She groaned pulling her blanket over her face to block it out and then finally opened her eyes. 

She sighed as she sat up and tossed her blanket aside and rose to her feet. She stripped out of her tank top and shorts that she used as pajamas and threw on her uniform. She looked at herself in the mirror as she combed her hair out and put it up in a ponytail. In the span of over two years, Juliet had blossomed from an awkward fifteen year old girl to a beautiful eighteen year old young woman. 

“Another Day.” She muttered, her voice had matured as well as her appearance. She grabbed her sword and scabbard and attached them to her belt then left her tent. She walked through the large colony looking around smiling at everything she saw. Only two and a half years and the colony that was once called “Little Lamplight” was now dubbed “Lights of D.C” and was a thriving community. 

She approached the seamstress’ tent where she saw Penny mending up a dress. 

“Hey Penny.” Juliet greeted her, Penny looked up and smiled almost instantly. 

“Hey Juliet! How are you?” She asked, 

Juliet felt her heart sink. She should've known that Penny would forget her birthday, but it didn't matter much. Ever since she got separated from her parents, Juliet didn't think her birthday was anything special, so she really could’ve cared less. 

“I'm good. Just going out to patrol the perimeter.” She said, 

“Okay then, see you later.” Penny said, 

“Bye.” Juliet waved as she left, 

Penny sighed. She knew that it was Juliet’s birthday, but she was in on the surprise that she and the others had planned for her. She felt bad, she could tell that the mayor was slightly hurt that she didn't remember her birthday, but she didn't want to ruin the surprise. 

Juliet then noticed Lucy talking with Zip and Sammy. She smiled and ran over to them. 

“Hey guys!” She called out, they noticed her and tried to keep their composure. 

“Oh, hey Juliet.” Zip said, 

“Do you guys know what day it is?” Juliet asked them gleaming, 

Zip looked like he pretended to think for a minute. “Hmmm...Tuesday?” He guessed, 

Juliet’s smile faded, “Yes, it is Tuesday. Well I'd better go.” She walked past them and headed for her post. 

The three of them exhaled deeply as if they were holding their breath. 

“Phew! That was a close one!” Zip said, 

“No kidding.” Sammy agreed, 

The blonde continued onward. Then her eyes fell upon someone else. He was a tall man about a year or two older than her. He had brown hair that was shaved but some was left a little on the top. He had stubble and a nice build. He was clad in leathers and he was standing guard at his post. 

Juliet smiled and blushed as she wandered over to him. She surprised him when she threw her arms around his neck from behind. He jumped a little. 

“Hey baby.” She said, the guy was relieved when he realized it was just her. 

He laughed a little. “Babe you shouldn't scare me like that.” He said, he had a baritone-like voice that was a little raspy. 

Juliet giggled, “Sorry, Will.” She said, Will was one of the Big Town kids that they managed to bring with them. They didn't know each other when he was in “Little Lamplight”. But when they finally  
met, both teenagers felt a strong bond for one another. They remained friends for over a year and a half before they realized that what they felt was more than friendship. It had been a year since they started dating. They loved each other so. 

They looked out at the gorgeous Wasteland before them. 

“The Capitol Wasteland sure is beautiful…” Juliet said, 

“Yeah…” Will said, he then looked at her with a flirty smile. “But not as beautiful as you…” 

Juliet’s red cheeks went even redder and her smile grew wider as she giggled. She planted a kiss on his cheek and laid her head against his shoulder. 

“...Do you know what day it is?” She asked him, 

He froze. He was in on the surprise too. 

“Uh...no, I don't know, what's today?” He asked, 

Juliet's heart sank even more. Even he didn't remember her birthday. 

She sighed, “Nevermind.” 

“No Jules, tell me.” He said, 

“No...it's fine.” She assured him, she pulled on a weak smile. She then kissed her beau on the lips and walked away as he watched her feeling bad for her. 

Juliet somberly wandered the surrounding area making sure that there were no threats to be seen. Being a migrating settlement, they had managed to outsmart groups like raiders and super mutants. Juliet had come up with a clever tactic. She would send scouts out to find a new area and they would send her the coordinates. When the time was right, they would pack up and move out. They would never stay in the same place twice, that way, their patterns weren’t predictable so that enemies couldn't find them. 

She smirked at her cleverness. “I guess I am a good leader after all. This settlement has endured a lot, but we’ve managed to pull through...” She then looked down to a particular object that was around her neck. 

It was her locket. 

Juliet gripped it tightly as she thought about a certain someone. 

“...I only wish you were here to see it…” She said, 

It had been only a few years since MacCready left. She still missed him dearly, but over the years her hurt from him leaving had turned into anger and resentment. Now she was mad at him for leaving. 

She then opened the locket revealing a picture of the two of them from when they were twelve. He was on guard duty again and she had surprised him with a camera and snapped a picture of them both of them. MacCready was a little upset at first but it didn't take long for him to cool down. He never knew what she did with the picture. 

She had put it in the locket. 

Juliet could feel the tears fill her eyes and her throat tighten. She decided to not patronize herself for another minute and closed the locket fiercely. But he wasn't the only one who left. 

Chelsea was gone too.

Shortly after Juliet got rid of the age limit, Chelsea pulled her aside and told her that she felt that she needed to finish what her parents started. She wanted to rescue as many synths as possible. 

She told her that she had heard whispers of a group up north in Massachusetts called “The Railroad” who saved synths all the time. Chelsea decided that she was going to join them and help their cause. 

It was hard for her, but Juliet, with a happy heart, let Chelsea go to achieve her goal. They both kept in touch through letters and Chelsea would swing down to D.C every now and again to see everyone. But Juliet hadn't heard from her recently. 

Then of course, she still missed her parents. Even though it had been years since she returned home to find it abandoned, her heart was still very broken. While she would think about Chelsea and MacCready only every so often, her parents crossed her mind every single day. 

At first she thought they were killed. But now, she had the strangest feeling that they were alive and out there somewhere. She wasn't sure if the feeling was legitimate or if it was just wishful thinking or denial, all she really knew was that if they were out there, she would find them. 

Juliet sighed looking down at the ground. Suddenly she looked up and in the distance saw a group of hooded cloaked figures. Each person had a certain weapon strapped to them. 

She narrowed her eyes at them. They weren't raiders. If that were the case, then they were the most oddly dressed group of raiders that she had ever seen. They appeared to be walking past the settlement. Hopefully they didn't notice them. Juliet guessed that they didn't because they were far away. 

“Strange. What are they doing here?” She said to herself, she watched as they passed her settlement and disappeared behind some of the dusty hills. 

“They're heading more South. I'll have my patrols keep an eye on them...” 

Everyone continued to work their jobs pretending that they didn't know it was Juliet’s birthday. Sammy, Squirrel, Princess, Lucy, and Penny all finished their work early and gathered in Lucy’s medical tent so they could start putting everything together. 

Lucy put up a sign that read: “The doctor is out” and closed the tent flaps. She turned to her friends smiling. 

“Okay, is everything ready?” She asked them, 

“Yeah almost, Eclair’s just finishing up his surprise.” Princess replied, 

After the age limit was eliminated, they managed to recruit all of the older kids from Big Town, including Eclair, to join them. Everyone was relieved to have a decent cook back. 

“Oh man! Wait until she finds out!” Sammy told the others, 

“I know, she’ll be so excited!” Penny nodded, 

“Remember, don't tell her! It's a surprise!” Princess reminded them, Princess had also transformed into a beautiful young woman, her brownish red hair grew out like Lucy’s and Penny’s did and her figure was now slightly buff with a bit of muscle. 

“Okay, we better get started before she gets off duty.” Lucy said hurriedly, 

Juliet slouched through the settlement to her tent. She had spent the whole day patrolling the area around “Lights of D.C” and she was exhausted! She was relieved to hear from Knick Knack and Knock Knock and the other guards that no threats were spotted from their ends. 

They were safe for another day.

She finally reached her tent but stopped and sighed before opening the flaps. 

“...Happy Birthday, Juliet Weathers…” She said, she opened the flaps. 

“SURPRISE!!!” 

Juliet was stunned as a bright lantern was lit and there stood Penny, Lucy, Sammy, Squirrel, Zip, Eclair, and Princess. 

Juliet walked further into the tent still surprised. “What!? What is going on here!?” She asked them, 

“It's your birthday. Happy birthday.” Lucy smiled, 

Juliet smiled and began to laugh as she ran her hands across her head brushing her bangs back. “This is crazy! I thought you guys forgot about my birthday!” 

“No way! We could never forget your birthday, Juliet.” Sammy told her, 

Suddenly Juliet felt a pair of arms wrap around her midsection hugging her from behind. She looked over her shoulder to see Will smiling and holding her tightly to him. 

“Happy Birthday.” He said to her, Juliet smiled at him as he spun the birthday girl around and kissed her fully on the lips. When they parted they turned back to face everyone. All of her friends were smirking and Juliet just blushed from embarrassment. 

Squirrel then handed her the leather scabbard from earlier. 

“Here you go, Juliet. My birthday gift to you.” He said, 

Juliet pulled out the shining new sword out of the scabbard gasping at how beautiful it is. She looked at Squirrel with wide eyes and a huge grin. Her wide eyes were filled with tears. 

“Squirrel! This is amazing! Thank you so much!” She said sincerely, she gave her blacksmith friend a tight hug and he hugged her back. 

Princess then brought over a bag of flour and set it up in front of Juliet. “Here, see if it works.” She said, 

Juliet focused on the large bag of flour on the floor and slashed her sword right through it. The burlap material sliced open instantly upon impact and the fluffy white powder spilled out onto the ground. 

Everyone’s eyes widened at how fast she cut the bag open. She smiled at her sword and then at Squirrel. 

“It's perfect.” She beamed, Squirrel then smiled for he was proud of his work. 

They proceeded on with giving Juliet her birthday presents. She got one gift from each person. She got a worn out hoodie from Penny that she managed to patch up, a ushanka hat from princess, boots from Sammy, a beautiful hairbrush from Lucy, and a romantic kiss from Will. These were wonderful gifts and Juliet appreciated them all. After she took over the settlement, she saw to it that everyone’s birthday would be celebrated, but she never cared about celebrating her own, her friends were glad that they could make her happy too. 

Finally, Eclair stepped forward holding a tray in his hands. 

“Happy Birthday, Juliet. Here’s my gift.” He said kindly, the tray had something on it. It was uneven layers of baked dough with dark blue and white icing. Juliet smiled at it oddly and then looked back up at Eclair. 

He smiled sheepishly, “Well, it’s supposed to be a cake, but the layers got kind of messed up in the baking process. Sorry.” He apologized, 

The female mayor smiled warmly at him. “I like it, Eclair. I'm sure it's gonna taste great. After all, you baked it.” She gave him a wink. 

Eclair laughed at that as Princess put a candle in the center and lit it with a match. They began to sing. 

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Juliet...happy birthday to you…” 

“Go on, make a wish.” Lucy encouraged her, 

Juliet thought long and hard about the wish. She was one of those people who didn't really believe in wishes. She believed in hope, she believed in religious faith, fate and destiny, but never in wishes. She believed that since she was young, she always thought that the very idea of simply asking for something and sit around hoping that it will come true just sounded kinda...silly...but still, it was  
fun to try anyway. 

Finally deciding on a wish, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she began to wish from the bottom of her heart. 

‘...I wish that we’ll all always be together and I won't end up alone…”

With a great big huff, she blew the candle out. 

The others clapped for her and they began to dig into the cake. Juliet was right, despite it’s deformed look, Eclair made a really delicious cake. As they ate, Lucy leaned in and whispered to Juliet. 

“So, what did you wish for?” She asked her, this got the attention of Princess and Penny as well. 

Juliet giggled, “Can't tell you.” She replied, 

“Awww!!! Why not!?” Princess whined, 

“Because, a wish won't come true if you say it out loud.” Juliet explained playfully, 

“Come on, you can tell us.” Penny urged her, 

The blonde shook her head. “Nope, no can do. Sorry.” 

They continued to hang out and listen to music on Juliet’s radio. The birthday girl smiled, this was a great birthday. 

Just then the tent flap opened and in came a familiar figure. She had pale skin, black hair, and chocolate brown eyes. 

All eyes widened upon seeing the figure. 

“Hey everyone!” She smiled and waved, 

“CHEALSEA!!!” Juliet shrieked, she shot straight up and ran over to her best friend and threw her arms around her in a tight hug. Chelsea herself was taken aback by the sudden hug but hugged her back without question. 

“Hey Jules.” She said, Juliet pulled away from her. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were in Massachusetts!” She said,

Chelsea smiled proud, “Desdemona assigned me to a job down here. I finished early and have a week to spare so I thought I'd stop by for your birthday. I got a present for you.” 

“Ooh, you did? You didn't have to get me anything...what is it?” Juliet asked, 

The raven-haired girl smiled sheepishly and looked down at the ground. It was then that everyone realized that she had a rope in her fist. She gave the rope a gentle tug and out from behind the new Railroad Agent came a small fluffy puppy. It looked like a Golden Retriever. It had light golden fur that was matted with mud. It had beautiful brown eyes that looked warm. It wagged it’s tail at Juliet and sat down and barked happily. 

The blonde gasped upon seeing the puppy. It was even cuter than the dog that Albert wandered around with. 

“Oh my gosh…” Juliet knelt down and picked up the puppy. She held it up close to her face and the puppy licked her nose. “She's beautiful…”. 

Chelsea giggled. “Isn't she just precious?” I found her on the way here, she was lost and hungry. I would take care of her but I'm so busy with my job as it is...I figured you might be happy to take her.” 

“I would LOVE to take her!” Juliet smiled, she nose nuzzled the puppy and cooed at it. 

“Who's a beautiful little girl? You are! Yes you are!” She said, she spoke in the goofiest voice that her friends had heard from her. 

“So, what are you gonna name her?” Zip asked, 

Juliet smiled as she thought about a name. This puppy looked like it had been through a lot yet it was still so happy. Plus she was cute and radiant beyond all belief, she was Juliet’s little sunshine… 

...Sunshine…

“Hmmm…” Juliet hummed in thought, she turned to the others. 

“Her name is “Sunny”.” She told them, Sunny barked happily and licked her face. 

“I think she likes that name.” Penny joked, 

“It’s a perfect name.” Squirrel nodded, Sammy and Zip agreed. 

“Can I see her?” Lucy begged, Juliet happily obliged and handed Sunny over to the ebony-haired girl awed and cooed at the sweet puppy in her hands. 

“If you want, I can give her the shots she requires.” Lucy offered, 

Princess quirked an eyebrow, “But Lucy, you're a people doctor.” She pointed out, the beautiful medic smiled at the strong girl. 

“I know my way around animals too. They're not much different. I mean, I was the one who helps keep Ginger, Hooligan, and Rex happy.” She said referring to the settlement’s dogs, they had them since “Little Lamplight” along with a few others. Sadly the other ones had passed away from old age and they only had the three left. 

“Not only that, she needs a proper cleanup, she's all filthy,” Penny spoke up, 

Sammy plugged his nose. “And she smells.” He added on, 

Juliet took Sunny back from Lucy and set her down on the floor of the tent so she could get used to her surroundings. Sunny instantly took a liking to her new home and barked as if she were rejoicing. 

The nine adults laughed at the young puppie’s goofiness. Little did they know that there was trouble nearby. 

Not far from the settlement, over the dusty hills, the sounds of gunshots and screams pierced the peaceful night. 

It was a battle. 

The cloaked group that had caught Juliet’s eye earlier was under attack. A large group of raiders managed to find them and pounce on them. They shot their bullets through heavy armor and shanked their knives through tender flesh, blood was shed everywhere and the hooded cloaked men were dropping like flies. Some were still alive, but just barely. 

The battle was fierce and long and a lot of the men were taken down until only three men were left standing. One wielding a combat shotgun, the second wielding a 10mm pistol, and the third one wielding a sniper rifle. 

There were four raiders remaining, they were outnumbered by one. 

The man with the combat shotgun fired his shots at the raiders as they shot back at them and only managed to take one down. The sniper and the 10mm shooters started firing as well. The wielder of the 10mm pistol ran straight into the line of fire shooting rapidly while the sniper took shelter behind a large rock and aimed down the sights. 

The three remaining raiders showed no mercy and shot the 10mm dead. This caused the sniper to run out from his hiding place and start shooting from a different angle and began a shoot off with one of the raiders. He was so focused on his current target that he didn't notice one of the other raiders preparing to fire a shot at him. 

The man with the combat shotgun noticed however and jumped in front of the sniper, taking the bullet to the stomach. He fell on the ground with a thud as the sniper watched his shock at what his comrade had just done. 

The man with the combat shotgun looked at the sniper. “Go…” He said weakly, “Go now!” 

The sniper wasted no time and made a run for it. The leader of the raiders then shot the brave man dead and looked to the sniper who was running for his life. Seeing this as a final opportunity to end him, he cocked his gun and fired sending the bullet flying straight into the sniper’s left upper arm. The sniper grasped his arm tightly as the blood began to rush out and yelled in agony. But he kept on going. The raiders stared after him as he ran. 

“Should we go after him, sir?” One of the raiders asked their leader, the raider leader just snickered evilly and replied, “Nah, let the Wasteland finish him off.” He said, 

The hooded cloaked figure ran as fast his legs could carry him. He looked to his injured arm only to see the sickening sight of his own blood seeping out onto his hand. Due to the blood loss he began to feel woozy. He ran over a hill and fell to his knees once he reached the bottom. 

He breathed heavily in and out. “Well...it looks like this is the end of me…” He said to himself, then he looked up and his blurred vision caught sight of a well lit town not so far away. It was a town of tents and it seemed very well inhabited. 

‘...A settlement? Maybe they can help me…’ He thought, he slowly dragged himself towards the settlement. Upon nearing the entrance, he looked up at the flag that waved over the place. 

““Lights of D.C…”. Not a name I would've chosen but still…” He mused, he tried to get the strength to get back up on his feet and walked through the entrance and looked around. The town was full of people, hopefully one of them would notice his terrible condition and help. 

Suddenly, the sniper felt all strength drain from his body as another dizzy spell began. He once again fell to his knees and cringing from the pain in his arm. He then looked up to see the top of a sword pointed at in between his eyes. 

“Don't move.” A voice said, it belonged to a woman, he knew that much. He looked up even more to see Juliet pointing the sword at him with narrowed eyes. Behind her were her friends. They didn't look too happy to see him either. 

His eyes widened. He knew he was in trouble. 

“State your business here.” The blonde demanded, 

He hesitated. 

Chelsea stepped forward, “You heard her. She said, “state your business here.” How did you find us? What do you want?” She said harshly, 

When the man didn't respond again, Juliet looked over to Sammy and Squirrel. 

“Grab him.” She ordered, they nodded and grabbed the stranger by his upper arms and forced them behind his back causing him to cry out in pain from his injury. 

“Remove the hood.” She ordered, Sammy fiercely grabbed the back of the stranger’s hood and pulled it back revealing his face. He was a young man, with brown hair and sun kissed skin. His icy blue eyes were wide in fear. 

Upon the man’s hood being pulled back, Lucy’s eyes widened and her heart stopped beating in her chest. Heat rose in her face until her cheeks were glowing red like a tato. 

Juliet knelt down and then continued to speak. “Just so you know, if you are an intruder you'd better watch out. We have ways of dealing with intruders…” 

Princess began to laugh like a psychopath. “Yay we get to torture someone!” She cheered, she was in charge of dealing with any threats to “Lights of D.C” and it had been so long since she punished a prisoner. She looked to her leader. 

“What do we do with him? Poison him? Shoot him? Tie his limbs to Brahmin and pull him apart!?” She asked excitedly, the man’s face blanched as she listed off the ways to torture and even kill him. 

Lucy then noticed that his arm was bleeding terribly. 

“Wait!” She yelled out, the others turned to her. “This man is hurt!” She ran past them and knelt down beside the sniper and looked at his upper left arm where the wound was. 

“...He’s been shot. We need to get him to my tent straight away!” She said, 

“How do we know that this isn't some sort of trick?” Princess spoke up, Zip nodded. “She's right, we can't take any chances.” 

Juliet then turned to Penny. “Penny, now would be the perfect time to use your “super power”...what do you think?” She asked her, 

Penny looked at the injured stranger really hard. She could see right through him. She knew everything that he was feeling. 

“...He's not lying. He's good.” She finally replied, 

Juliet then looked back to the man. Her serious look now softened. 

“If Penny says you're okay, then I guess you're okay to come in.” She said, Princess proceeded to pout for she wasn't going to torture him. 

Juliet then knelt down again and took his hand in hers. “Welcome to “Lights of D.C”,” She said kindly, “Lucy here will tend to your wounds. Then you can tell us more about where you came from.” She turned and walked away as Lucy helped him to stand up. 

“Come on, I’ll help you…I can patch you up in a heartbeat.” She said, she then led him to her medical tent blushing all the while.


	13. Chapter 12: "A Familiar Stranger"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are just about to get interesting ;)

The sniper was instantly taken to Lucy’s tent to be patched up. Once they reached her tent, she had him remove his cloak and his shirt underneath, he winced when his shirt brushed the wound. As he undressed, Lucy blushed even harder. Although she had seen a lot of her guy friends shirtless when they came in for a physical exam, seeing this guy shirtless made her even more jittery than she was when she first saw his face. His physique, however, was sadly not much to look at. He was fit and had a build, but he was also thin and he looked as if he hadn't had a decent meal in months. When she was ready to begin she had him sit on her old cot and she began to operate. 

The fair medic sighed as she pulled on her rubber gloves and grabbed a pair of metal tweezers. She looked to the man with a weak smile. 

“Okay, I’m going to take the bullet out of your arm. This may hurt a little so sit tight.” She said calmingly, 

The stranger just nodded and said, “Okay.” She carefully reached the tweezers through the bullet hole in his upper left arm causing him to cringe and grit his teeth waiting for it to be over. After a minute, Lucy pulled the little piece of lead out.

“There. It's out.” She placed the bloody bullet on the surgical tray that laid on the cot. “It wasn't lodged too far in. That’s good, not too much damage was done to your nerves. You should heal a lot quicker.” She said, she proceeded to pour half of her tin filled with purified water onto the wound and then headed for one of her boxes of medical supplies. She began to search through it for something. 

“So, like, what happened to you? How'd you mess your arm up?” She asked him, 

His face darkened, “Raiders. They attacked my group and gunned everyone down except for me and two other guys. One of them nearly killed me but one of my comrades took the bullet…” He sighed as he tried not to cry at the thought of the guy who sacrificed himself to save him. “...He told me to get out of there, so I ran, but their leader saw me running and decided to take one last shot at me, he managed to get me in the arm. I walked for awhile until I found this place. Which pretty much leads us to now.” He finished, 

Lucy closed the lid on the container having not found what she needed. She began to look through another container as she listened to his story. 

“Wow, you were really brave.” She said impressed, 

The stranger scoffed, “Bravery? I think it was just luck. But I appreciate the thought though.” He said charmingly, it was obvious that this guy was very charismatic. 

After searching the second box, Lucy finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small bottle of scotch and a dishrag. She went back over and sat down on the cot next to the young man and opened the container and poured some of the alcohol on the dishrag. 

“Do you have any family? Friends?” She asked him, 

“Nah, I never knew my parents, and I've never been the type for having friends. I've been a loner for most of my life…” He then winced and hissed in pain as she dabbed the wound with the cloth making sure to clean it good. Lucy blushed as she put the bottle and the cloth down. She looked at the handsome man feeling very sorry for him. She knew how he felt, feeling completely alone. 

“...I never really knew my parents either…” She replied, he looked at her surprised which slowly slipped into a sincere look. 

“By the way, thanks for sticking up for me. That took some guts.” He complimented, Lucy’s face went slightly red as she smiled silly and played with a strand of her long dark hair. 

“Thanks.” She replied, 

“Your leader is tough, huh?” He teased,

Lucy smiled and chuckled, “Don’t take offense to her, she's not bad, she's only thinking of us. She's actually really sweet, and a good friend. She's just had a rough few years is all.” She explained, 

“Oh okay, I understand.” He nodded, 

Juliet passed by the tent with Chelsea walking beside her as the two best friends were catching up on life and how Chelsea’s job with “The Railroad” has been. They noticed that Lucy was talking with the stranger they had let in and noticed that she was blushing as they talked. 

Both girls smirked and Juliet nudged Chelsea’s arm while Chelsea giggled. They continued to watch them. 

“So...let’s hear more about you...You said you had no family or friends...Have you been alone all of your life?” She asked him, he looked down at the ground as if he were thinking of the right thing to say. 

“...Not all of my life…I was alone for a little while, but I mostly spent my childhood in the company of other kids…” He replied, 

“Oh, that's very nice.” Lucy smiled, she then reached over into her first aid kit that was sitting beside her and pulled out some thread and a needle. She sighed again, this was the part he was gonna hate. She was going to have to stitch up his wound. 

The man’s blue irises shrunk when he saw the needle and thread. Lucy smiled comfortingly. “Tell me more about you, it'll help take your mind off of it.” 

He nodded. She began to put the needle through the skin as he cringed again. He continued. 

“I lived with a bunch of other kids, we all lived underground…in a cave West from here...” 

Juliet and Chelsea’s smiled faded. That place sounded...familiar...

Lucy looked up as she stitched, her smile was gone too. “Uh huh.” She said oddly, 

He just laughed lightly, “Yeah, I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. The place was called “Little Lamplight”. We all worked together in order to survive. Would you believe that I led them for a little while?” 

Lucy along with Juliet and Chelsea were now super confused and suspicious. Just who was this guy actually? 

“This guy was a Lamplighter…” Juliet whispered, her mouth agape.

“And a leader too…” Chelsea added, 

Juliet squinted her eyes at the man. “Come to think of it, Chelsea...he looks awfully familiar…” She said, 

Not really sure of what to say, Lucy finished stitching up the wound not saying anything else. She pulled the string tight and cut it using her teeth. She dried the wound with a dry towel and injected Med-X into his arm to make the pain go away and she was all done. 

“That's a very interesting story…” She finally said, she capped the scotch bottle and stood up and began to start putting her medical stuff away. 

“Yep, I was one of their toughest leaders. Mayor MacCready they called me.” He said proudly, 

Lucy’s eyes widened and she let out a gasp as she dropped the bottle of scotch onto the ground shattering it. 

Juliet and Chelsea’s eyes widened ask well. Juliet slowly backed away while Chelsea continued to stare. 

“Whoa, are you okay?” MacCready asked Lucy obviously concerned, the medic turned to him with a nervous smile completely at a loss for words. 

“Uh...y-yeah. I-I thought I saw a mole rat…” She lied, she tried to compose herself. She cleared her throat. “Okay, you're all done, go on and get yourself something to eat.” She smiled, 

MacCready smiled back and threw his shirt and cloak back on and exited the tent. Making sure that he didn't see her, Chelsea hid on the side of the tent and watched him leave. Chelsea then backed away from the tent. 

“...MacCready’s back? Juliet this is incredible! Juliet-!” She stopped dead when she turned and noticed that the blonde was no longer there. 

Chelsea looked around wondering where her best friend had gone. 

“Juliet?” She called softly, 

The next morning, the entire settlement of “Lights of D.C” woke up to another day. 

MacCready woke up on the right side of the mattress. He felt a lot better than he was when he arrived the night before. He got up and started looking around the settlement some more. He didn't notice that Chelsea was watching him. 

No one knew who he was and he didn't know that he was with the lamplighters again. The raven-haired woman decided that she was going to be the first to approach him and tell him the truth. 

She walked over to him. “Well, look at what the deathclaw dragged in!” She said, MacCready looked at her odd. 

She just smiled. “Hey dude, good to see you again.” 

He continued to look at her strangely, finally he replied. “...Do I know you?” 

“RJ...it's me…” She said, he scratched his stubble and stared at her hard and he suddenly recognized who he was talking to. 

“Wait...CHELSEA!?” He said surprised, 

Chelsea just smiled. “Hey Mac n’ Cheese!” She said playfully, 

A smile cracked on MacCready’s face. He wrapped his arms around Chelsea’s waist completely ignoring the nickname and she threw her arms around his shoulders as they shared a tight hug. When they parted, he looked at her still happy. 

“What the hell!? What are you doing here!?” He asked her, 

“I technically live here, I'm just away a lot,” Chelsea explained, “I work for “The Railroad” now.” 

MacCready nodded in understanding, he had heard of “The Railroad” operating in The Commonwealth. He didn't really agree with them, but he liked them and thought they were good people, MUCH more likeable than “The Brotherhood Of Steel”. 

“In fact, everyone here is from “Little Lamplight”!” Welcome home, dude!” Chelsea yelled happily, 

MacCready’s eyes widened as he looked around him at the settlement's other residents. 

“Wait, so these are all our friends?” He asked her, 

Chelsea nodded, “Yep! Every person! For example, that cute girl who patched you up last night, that was Lucy.” 

MacCready perked up upon hearing that. “Wait, Lucy? As in, my ex-girlfriend Lucy?”

Chelsea winked, “Bingo.” She said, 

It was then that MacCready realized something else. 

“Wait! So if everyone's still here,  
Is Juliet still here too?” He asked Chelsea, 

The raven-haired girl nodded with a smile. “Yep, she's still here. She's been running the place pretty well. You certainly picked the right one for the job.” 

“Do you know where she is? I...I need to talk to her…” He asked, 

Chelsea shrugged, “The hell should I know! I haven't seen her since last night.” 

“...I’ll find her.” He said, 

Juliet walked around looking as if she saw a ghost. She still couldn't believe it! As she walked her mind was racing with thoughts. 

‘He's back!? MacCready’s back!? But he left! I can't believe this! How could he do this to us!? He ditched us, he ditched me! How can I forgive him for the hurt and the sorrow that I felt after he left!? I'm just gonna avoid him. Maybe if I keep my distance, maybe I won't have to talk to him.’ 

She wandered around the settlement some more but stopped when she saw MacCready catching up with some of their old friends. She attempted to walk past him without being seen. 

“Juliet?” He said, 

She froze. “God damnit!” She cursed under her breath, she put on a fake smile and turned around to face him. He stared at her trying to take in her older look. 

He smiled. “Juliet Ophelia Weathers…”

“Robert Joseph MacCready…”. She replied, 

“It's been a long time.” He continued, 

Juliet nodded, “It has.” She said, this was too weird. 

He got closer to her and ran his hand through her blonde hair letting the nearly brown strands run through his fingers. “Look at you. You haven't changed a bit.” 

Juliet chuckled trying to keep her cool, “I was going to say the same about you…then again, who could forget that mug you call a face.” 

MacCready laughed at that. “Yeah, you're Juliet alright. I really missed you, you know.” 

Juliet smiled, she found that she was starting to forgive him. But then she remembered how he made her feel when he left. 

Her smile faded. MacCready noticed this. “What?” He asked her, 

Juliet started backing away from him, “Don't think that being playful with me will be enough for me to fix what you did…” Tears began to fill her eyes as she desperately tried to hold them back. 

“What are you talking about?” He shrugged, 

She didn't reply. 

“Jules…” 

“Just leave me alone!” She said, “Haven't you caused enough trouble!?” She then pulled the silver locket over her head and clenched it tight in her fist. “Best friends don't leave each other.” She then threw the locket hard at him and managed to hit him in the chest area causing him to cringe from the impact. She then turned and stormed off leaving MacCready behind staring after her. Chelsea approached him. 

“Was it something I said?” He asked her now feeling guilty, 

Chelsea patted his shoulder. “Just give her time. She'll come around eventually.” 

Juliet went into her tent and collapsed face down on her mattress sobbing, just when life was going great, that asshole from her past just had to show up and ruin everything. 

Sunny noticed her mistress distress and went over to her mattress whimpering. She nudged Juliet’s arm. Juliet lifted her head and looked at Sunny. The small Australian Shepherd Golden Retriever mix placed her paws on her mistress’ arm smiling and wagging her tail. Juliet brushed her messy hair back and wiped her eyes smiling at her puppy. She stroked her head. 

“Thanks Sunny.” She said, Sunny licked her face. 

Suddenly, she heard the flaps to her tent open and she looked up to see who it was. Her red teary eyes narrowed. 

It was MacCready. 

“Juliet…” He began, 

Juliet shot straight up. “Who said you could come into my tent!?” She snapped, 

“Juliet, come on. Just listen to me.” He begged her, 

“No! Get out of here before I get my guards to kick you out!” She threatened, 

“Can’t you just tell me what the problem is!?” MacCready asked now raising his voice a bit, he was getting tired of this. 

The new mayor then got up in the old mayor’s face. “You know very well what the problem is! You left us, RJ! We needed you and you left! You had a choice to stay and you didn't take it. You dumped this position onto me all at once as if it didn't matter! How could you!?” She yelled, her face was now red with anger and the tears were daring to streak down her cheeks. MacCready’s eyes widened as she went on with her rant. When she was finally done, he waited a minute before speaking. 

“...Juliet I...I didn't know…” MacCready said, “I knew you were upset about it but I didn't know that I actually hurt you. I'm sorry.” He felt terrible, some friend he was. 

Juliet turned to him. “You're two years too late, buddy.” She said sarcastically, “You're gonna have to do a lot better than that.” 

“I'm sorry, what else can I say?” He said, the ex-mayor did look extremely sorry for what had happened. “Look Juliet, I know I hurt you, and what I did was stupid. But I'm sorry. I was actually miserable after I left, you're my best friend. I don't care how many times I have to say it, I’ll say it a thousand times if I have to….I’m sorry Juliet...” 

Juliet’s look softened. She sighed, “...You're not going to stop until I forgive you, are you?” 

He shook his head, “Nope.” 

She sighed again, she walked up to him. They were almost face-to-face. She looked at MacCready helplessly and grazed her thumb across his left cheek. She stared hard into his icy blue eyes. She recognized the look that was in them. 

“Why are you so persistent to earn my forgiveness?” She asked him, 

He shrugged, “Actions speak louder than words, right?” 

She smiled, for real this time. “RJ...it really is you…” She said, 

He slowly nodded. “It's really me.” 

Juliet, not really thinking, embraced him in a tight hug. She only wanted to hold on tight so he wouldn't escape again. He hugged her back. He didn't want to let go of her either. She began to cry. He only held her tight and ran his hand through her hair just like how he used to do. 

“...I really missed you…” He told her, 

Juliet blushed without him seeing. “I really missed you too.” She replied, they pulled back to look at each other again. What a difference time makes. They couldn't believe that they were here, together again. It was crazy. 

Juliet’s lips parted into a huge goofy grin. “Feel free to stay as long as you want.” 

MacCready just smiled back, rotted teeth showing, “Thanks Jules.” Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out her silver locket. He dangled it from the chain. 

“I believe you dropped this.” He joked, 

Juliet just laughed. 

He laughed too. “I can't believe you still have this thing!” He told her, 

Juliet beamed at him as she blushed a bit more. “I'll always wear it.” It was then that she noticed that MacCready was blushing too. He gestured for her to turn around. Juliet listened and turned her back to him pulling all of her hair to one side. He placed the necklace over her head and around her neck. She pushed all of her hair back so it was all now resting on her back again. She turned back to him still smiling. She took him in her arms again. 

“Don't leave me again.” She whispered, 

“Don't worry, I won't leave you...never again…” MacCready replied,


	14. Chapter 13: "Complicated"

“Lucy?” MacCready spoke up, 

Lucy turned to him and her cheeks went red. 

“Still a medic, I see…” He said, 

“RJ, so it is you…” She smiled, 

He nodded, “It's me.” 

“It's been too long…” Lucy said flirtatiously, 

The sniper smiled and blushed, “Yeah...it has been too long…” 

“How's your arm doing?” Lucy asked him, 

MacCready flexed his left arm. “It's doing a lot better, thank you.” 

Lucy nodded, “Good, I'm glad I could help…” She fiddled with her dark hair, “So uh…how do you feel being around everyone again?” She asked, 

“Honestly, it feels good to be back. I missed everyone, especially you.” He replied blushing, 

Lucy’s eyes widened and her face went completely red. It was obvious that she was shy and flustered around him. 

“Lucy...uh...do you wanna...hang out with Chelsea, Juliet and I? You know, like old times?” MacCready asked nervously scratching the back of his head. 

The medic smiled and nodded, “Sure, sounds like fun.” 

The two of them left the medical tent and headed for Juliet’s tent. 

“So, let me get this straight, MacCready’s back?” Will said surprised, he remembered the ex mayor rather well, pretty much everyone in “Little Lamplight” knew who he was. 

Juliet nodded, “Yep, it’s him, he told me so himself.” 

Will then huffed folding his arms across his chest. “I remember him, he's the little punk that kicked me out. He was fourteen and I had just turned sixteen and he just threw me out on my ass.” He said bitterly, 

“Dude he did it to everyone, it was just the way things were.” Chelsea shrugged, 

“Yeah Will, RJ had his reasons. There wasn't enough space for all of us. He had to do it.” Juliet told her beau, 

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. I didn't know you called MacCready by his first name,” Will stopped her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Should I be concerned?” 

“No Will, it's not like that. He’s just one of my friends.” 

“Yeah, a friend whom you had a crush on.” Chelsea teased, 

Will’s eyes widened. “What what!? You had a crush on him!?” He looked like he was about ready to find MacCready and snap him in half. 

Juliet called him down, “Baby, calm down. Yes, I had a crush on him. Key word: HAD. That was all in the past, we were silly twelve year olds and I didn't even know you yet. He didn't even like me back anyways...I don't love him, I love you.” 

Will’s look softened and he smiled lovingly at her. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. “Okay, I’m sorry. I'm just a little overprotective is all. I just don't want to lose you…” Juliet smiled at him stroking his cheek with her soft and gentle hand and the two of them shared a kiss causing Chelsea to look away in disgust. 

Just then, both Lucy and MacCready entered the tent. Their eyes widened seeing the happy couple kiss. 

Will and Juliet broke off from the kiss and noticed the sniper and the medic standing there. 

Juliet began to blush horribly, “Oh my gosh! RJ! Lucy! I'm so sorry guys, I didn’t see you standing there.” She apologized, 

“No no, it's fine really,” Lucy assured her, she then looked to MacCready. He was only looking at Will. The look he was giving the handsome young man was the same one he used to give to people he was suspicious of. He looked very focused as if he was staring right through Will. Finally the serious look turned into a smirk. 

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Jules.” He teased, the mayor blushed some and tucked some of her dark blonde hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat. “Yes, well, things have changed a bit since you left, RJ,” She said, she gestured to her boyfriend of two years. “RJ, I'm sure you remember Will?” 

MacCready smiled and held out his hand for Will to shake it. “Yeah, I remember you. You were a bit older than us, right?” He asked him, 

Will felt extremely uneasy as he took MacCready’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “Yeah, I remember you too, man. You were a good leader. I remember the day you kicked me out.” He said, 

MacCready laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that. But I see that since then you've gotten along just fine.” He then smiled over at Juliet who started to blush again. 

He patted Will on the back. “You been taking care of her?” He asked him, 

Will nodded, “Yes I have.” 

“Good, you made the right choice, she's a good one. Make sure she doesn't slip through your fingers.” He winked, 

Will smiled suddenly feeling more comfortable around the ex mayor. “I won't, thanks.” 

The five adults proceeded to hang out in Juliet’s tent talking and laughing and drinking Nuka Cola. To Juliet, Chelsea, MacCready, and Lucy, it felt like old times and they were glad that Will was in on the fun too. 

“So RJ, what have you been doing since you left “Little Lamplight”?” Lucy asked the sniper adorably as she took a swig of her Nuka Cola, 

MacCready froze for a second as his mind was buzzing. 

‘Make something up, man! She can't know what you really do for a living! If she ever found out...’ He thought, 

“Uh...I'm-I’m a soldier…” he replied nervously, 

Lucy brightened up. “A soldier!? Wow! That's amazing!” 

Chelsea and Will smiled as well, 

“Wow, who would've thought you'd be part of a noble cause.” Chelsea said, 

“Yeah, it must be an honor to serve your country.” Will nodded, 

MacCready nervously laughed and replied, “Hehe, yeah...It is…” 

While the others continued to talk, the ex mayor noticed Juliet give him a suspicious glance. He tried to hide the truth behind his grin in hopes that she would buy it. After staring at him for a good ten seconds, Juliet went back to talking with the others. On the inside, MacCready sighed in relief. 

‘That was close.’ He thought, 

Over the course of the month, things were changing rapidly. Juliet and Will were getting much closer than before, Chelsea had returned back to the Commonwealth and resumed her work with “The Railroad”, and MacCready and Lucy were getting closer again too. 

“So uh, Lucy?” MacCready spoke up, he was talking to the beautiful doctor while she was cleaning. She turned to him smiling,

“Yes?” 

The sniper felt the color rise in his cheeks. He cleared his throat. “Remember when we were younger and we dated?” 

Lucy blinked twice in surprise and replied, “...Yes?” 

“Well...I wanted to apologize for breaking up. I didn't want to do it, but I just had my hands full with so much as it was that I wasn't ready for a relationship with someone. But ever since then I have never gotten you out of my head.” MacCready explained, 

Lucy began to smile. “What are you saying?” 

“I-I-Uh…..I guess what I'm trying to say is...it may seem weird, but do you think we could start over?” 

Lucy’s cheeks flushed redder than they had ever flushed. She walked up to him and ran her hand across his face. He stared at her and she gave him a gorgeous smile and kissed him straight up on the lips. This caused MacCready to freeze right on the spot. When they dated as kids, the most she did was kiss him on the cheek. They never officially reached second base. He had never really been kissed before, not on the lips anyway. It was kinda thrilling. He kissed her back a little harder and she blushed even more. Lucy moaned against his mouth and finally pulled away breathing heavily in and out but also smiling. 

“Of course.” She said, MacCready pulled her closer to him and they kissed again. The couple was so lost in the moment that they didn't notice Juliet and Will were watching them from a distance. 

“Well, would’ya look at that.” Will said smiling, Juliet smiled as well but on the inside her heart broke a little. 

Will noticed his girlfriend’s odd behavior and nudged her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” He asked her, 

Juliet nodded, “Y...Yeah. I'm fine.” She said, then she smiled at him. “I have a pretty long shift tonight, care to join me?” She said flirtatiously, 

Will smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. “I'd be happy to.” 

A few more weeks passed for everyone. Lucy and MacCready got even closer. Much to the happiness of the other residents of “Lights of D.C.”. However, there was one person who wasn't happy. 

Juliet was walking around about to start her day, but she noticed the happy couple fooling around nearby. She just stared at them as they laughed and talked. Until she saw Lucy pull something small out of the pocket of her dirty old lab coat. 

“Listen RJ, these few weeks with you have been some of the best weeks of my life. So I wanted to give you this…” She then placed in his hand a little wooden toy soldier. “I made it myself, I thought you’d like it because it's kind of a tribute to you being a soldier and “fighting the good fight” as Three Dog tells it,” She explained, she put her hand on his cheek. “I'm so proud of you…” 

MacCready had an uneasy expression on his face. Because he knew that the whole “soldier” thing was a complete lie. He hated lying to her and everybody else, but she couldn't know, otherwise he'd lose her. He'd probably lose Juliet and Chelsea too and he didn't want that. 

He forced a smile and tucked it away in the pocket of his duster. “I love it Lucy, thank you.” He then kissed her on the lips causing the medic to blush madly melt in his arms. 

Juliet had witnessed the whole thing and she didn't know why she was feeling the way she was. She wanted to be happy for them, but she just...didn't. She wasn't in love with MacCready anymore and she was in a perfect relationship with Will. 

...So why was she acting like this...? Was she just trying to be protective of Lucy, after all, she was like a sister to her. Or was she suspicious of MacCready unsure of whether or not he's being completely honest with them? 

Or was she…

...jealous? 

“Am I jealous?” She asked herself, she then shook her head to clear her thoughts. “No, no I’m not. I'm happy for them. Besides, I have a beautiful boyfriend of my own. They can have each other…” 

She saw the young couple kiss each other and Lucy headed off toward her medical tent leaving MacCready by himself, Juliet decided to walk over to him. 

“Hey RJ.” She spoke up, her friend turned to her and smiled. “Oh, hey Juliet.” 

“Lucy give you something?” She asked, 

MacCready nodded, “Yeah, uh...she gave me this…” He reached into his duster and pulled out the solid toy that Lucy gave him for Juliet to see. 

“She made it special for me…” He said, 

“Well, it seems that she really loves you…” Juliet said, on the inside, she felt her heart break a little. 

MacCready nodded again. “Yeah…” They went silent for a minute, it quickly became unnerving. 

Juliet cleared her throat. “Well uh...I’ll see you around…” She then walked away wearing a smile that masked the pain that she felt underneath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a rushed chapter, sorry :(


	15. Chapter 14: "Tension"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Just a warning, MAJOR Time Jumps here. Plus it's a little rushed...sorry :3

“I love you, you know that?” MacCready told Lucy, they were laying side by side on the short grassy ground. Ever since fresh water had been brought back to the Capital Wasteland, more plants were beginning to grow, the ground was getting taller and more trees were sprouting up. 

“I do know that, and I love you.” Lucy replied blushing, MacCready turned to lay on his side and looked Lucy in the eye. Lucy’s already red face was getting even redder and the sniper was blushing some too. 

“You know, before I met you, I didn't know what love felt like. I thought it was all nothing but bullcrap and I was just going to end up alone. That scared me. But when you came into my life...I don't know...something changed...

She sat up and he followed her example. Lucy placed her hand on his cheek and grazed it with her thumb. MacCready closed his eyes at the feeling of her soft hand on his cheek. In return he stroked her cheek causing her to hum in pleasure. 

“Well, you're not alone now…” Lucy smiled, 

He decided to be bold and leaned in to kiss her. His lips met with hers and Lucy’s face got really hot and she completely melted into his arms. The young couple just stayed like that for a while, enjoying the moment. They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice that they were being watched. 

Juliet was watching them them from a distance. She wasn't happy, she wasn't mad, she just had a plain look on her face. She didn't understand it. She wasn't in love with MacCready anymore. She had lost count of how many times she had repeated it in her head. She was not in love with him. 

“Juliet?” A voice spoke up, 

She recognized that voice. She sighed and put on a fake smile as she turned to face Will. He looked concerned at her. 

“Hey babe.” She said, 

“Something wrong?” He asked her, 

She shook her head. “No nothing.” She lied, 

Will wasn't falling for it, he could tell when Juliet was upset and she was upset now. 

“Are you sure?” He asked again, he put his arms around her and pulled her close. “You know that you can always tell me anything.” 

Juliet just rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “...I don't know...I just don't feel right…” 

He stroked her hair. “I'm sorry.” He said, 

“It's okay, it's not your fault.” Juliet replied, 

Later on, Juliet saw MacCready and Lucy again and she felt weird again. She was so focused on them that she didn't notice Penny coming up behind her. 

“Juliet?” She said, 

Juliet jumped a little. “Oh, hey Penny.” She said, the seamstress looked past her and saw the young couple as well. 

“Are you watching RJ and Lucy?” She asked her, Juliet’s face instantly turned red and she began to stutter. 

“Uh...no! No I’m not!” She said trying to keep her cool, 

Penny folded her arms across her chest. “Remember my “super power”, Jules. I can tell when you're lying…” She said, 

Juliet then sighed defeated. “Yeah.” 

“You've been doing that a lot lately...if I didn’t know any better, I'd say you were jealous or something.” 

“Jealous!? Who said I was jealous!?” Juliet instantly retaliated, 

“Jules...be honest with me...are you jealous?” 

Juliet nervously darted her eyes around trying to find a way out. She looked Penny in the eye. Penny wanted the answer and she wanted it now. 

Juliet sighed again, “I guess so…” 

“Why? It's not like you like RJ or anything…” She then noticed the blush form on her mayor’s cheeks. 

Hey eyes widened, “Get out of here…YOU LIKE RJ!?” She yelled out, 

“SHHHH!!!” Juliet shushed her, “...Yeah...I’m...I’m in love with him…I have never told anyone else except for Chelsea…” 

“How long have you felt this way about him?” Penny asked her, 

“Since we were twelve.” Juliet buried her face in her hands from embarrassment. 

“You've loved him for six years and never said anything?” Penny replied surprised, 

“...Yeah…” Juliet sighed, “I've always wanted to tell him, but I didn't want to hurt Lucy, and I also didn't want it to hurt our friendship…So I kept it secret…” 

“You should tell him the truth...whether he feels the same way or not, he'll respect your honesty, and you'll feel a lot better afterwards.” 

“Chelsea’s been telling me that for years. I don't think I could ever tell him.” Juliet shook her head, 

“Juliet...I really think you should tell him. It's much better to let it all out rather than keeping it bottled up.” 

“...I don't think so, Penny…” The blonde assured her, 

The seamstress shrugged, “Alright, fine. That's your decision.” She turned to walk away when Juliet stopped her.

“By the way, Penny. This conversation that we had, never happened. Got it?” She said, 

Penny smiled and nodded, “Got it.” 

“You're asking me what!?” Juliet said surprised, 

“I know it sounds crazy, but believe me, Lucy and I love each other it's not even funny, we have to do this.” MacCready explained, he was talking with Juliet in her tent along with Penny, Will, and Lucy who just stood back and watched. 

Lucy then stepped forward and linked MacCready’s arm with hers. “Juliet, it’s true, we’re crazy about each other. Sure we've only been together for a little over a month, but in a world like this there's no telling how much time we have...we wanna get hitched...but we need your blessing.” 

Being the leader of the settlement, it was also Juliet’s job to bless marriages. She had already done so with some of the Big Town kids and those couples were now happily married and still living in the settlement. 

Juliet pinched her temple trying to process the request. “I..I believe you love each other, but don't you think that you're rushing this a little bit?” Juliet asked him, 

“No, we’re sure about this. We've never been so sure of anything in our lives...please Juliet…” Lucy begged, 

The mayor just looked her two friends in the eyes. She could see the love that they had for each other, she saw it when they were kids as well. But she was unsure. They were both rushing into this kinda fast, she didn't want them to see them accidentally hurt themselves, plus, she was still uncertain how she felt about their relationship herself. She wanted to be happy for them, but she still couldn't help but feel upset at the fact that they were together. She had finally decided that she had fallen for MacCready again and she was jealous. But there was nothing she could do about it now. He loved Lucy. 

She missed her chance. 

She also didn't want to lose Lucy. Over the years, Lucy had become one of Juliet's best friends in the whole world, and knowing that blessing their marriage would cause Juliet to lose her. Her heart sank. 

But then she looked at Lucy. The doctor smiled and looked at her with pleading eyes. Juliet could feel her heart break a little. She just couldn't say no to Lucy, saying no would destroy her. Plus, she knew Lucy, and she knew MacCready. If she said no then they both would probably go along with it anyway with or without her blessing. 

She looked over at Penny and Will. Will was smiling at her also hoping that she would say yes while Penny had a worried look on her face now that she knew Juliet’s true feelings for the sniper. Finally the mayor sighed and forced a smile. 

“...Alright...you have my blessing…” 

Lucy’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas and squealed as she ran up to Juliet and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. 

“Oh Juliet! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She said, 

Juliet cried some as she smiled and hugged Lucy back. “Don't thank me, Lucy. You two should be happy together…” She then looked past her at MacCready. 

“You take care of her, RJ.” She said,

He nodded, “I will, I promise.” 

She then walked over to him and gave him a hug as well. “Good luck to you both.” When she pulled away and smiled no one could see the face that she hid behind her smile or hear the shatters of her broken heart clanging around in her chest. 

**Two Months later:**

It was a small ceremony, it was now early December. The air had a slight chill to there was a light snowfall. 

“Oh gosh, why am I shaking? This is a happy moment for me!” Lucy asked, she was shivering while Juliet, Penny, and Chelsea were straightening out her gown. Chelsea had managed to convince Desdemona to let her take a week off so she could come down for the wedding. 

“I don't know, Lucy.” Penny replied, 

“Maybe it's because you're getting married.” Juliet told her, 

“Or maybe it's because you're getting married in 45 degree weather.” Chelsea said sarcastically, 

“Haha.” Lucy laughed with sarcasm. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple white dress and her soft black hair was done up in a bun where a thin layer of slightly worn and dirty white fabric served as the veil. 

Joseph, who had turned into the settlement’s preacher, entered Juliet’s tent holding a bible. “We’re ready to begin.” He said, 

Chelsea turned to him, “Yeah yeah, we know we know. We'll be right out.” She said snarkily, 

“Oh god guys, what if this was a mistake? What if we don't last? What if I’m not a good wife? What if--?”

“Lucy...relax...you love RJ, right?” Juliet asked her, 

“I do.” Lucy replied, 

“You wanna be with him for the rest of his life, don't you?” Juliet asked her, 

Lucy nodded. “Of course I do! More than anything!” 

Juliet smiled and patted her friend’s shoulder. “Then you have nothing to worry about. Now come on, smile. It's your wedding day.” 

Lucy hesitated for a minute but finally managed to crack a small smile. 

Joseph came into the tent again. “Come along now, we gotta get this show on the road!” He urged them, 

“Well girls...I guess this is it…” Lucy said tearing up, she wrapped her arms around her three friends in a tight embrace. 

“Alright, let's do this.” Lucy said after taking a deep breath, 

They headed outside where Joseph was waiting by a tree with MacCready who clad in a dirty black suit and Zip who was his best man. 

Will was also there for the ceremony and everyone was smiling as Lucy walked over to them in her white gown. When she finally reached the tree, she and MacCready took each other’s hands and smiled at each other slightly tearing up. 

As the ceremony began, the girls all cried their hearts out, Will was smiling for he was happy for the couple, and Zip was shaking really excited but it was not from drinking too much Nuka Cola. 

“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today in the eyes of God to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…” Joseph said, he looked to MacCready. “RJ, do you take Lucy to be your wife? To love her and to cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer to poorer ‘till death do you part?” He asked him, MacCready smiled and nodded his head. 

“I do.” He said, 

“And do you, Lucy, take RJ to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love him and to cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer to poorer ‘till death do you part?” Joseph asked her, 

Lucy nodded smiling as well. “I do as well.” 

Will noticed that Juliet was crying and he gave her hand a squeeze. Juliet smiled at him wiping the tears from her eyes. 

Joseph smiled. “Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride…” 

MacCready lifted Lucy’s veil and kissed her passionately. All of their friends applauded their union for now they were officially married. 

They were one. 

A few months went by and things went back to normal. Lucy and MacCready left “Lights of D.C” shortly after their marriage for they had found a nice settlement to live in. It was a tearful goodbye but everyone got over it easily. Soon after they left, Bumble became the new medic. After years of training with Lucy. She finally knew how to fix almost anything. 

It was a fine day in March. It had been four months since Lucy and MacCready left. She decided to surprise them with a visit to their settlement. She left Penny and Will in charge of the settlement until she got back. She traveled for half a day until she finally reached her destination. 

She knocked on the door and it was almost instantly opened by Lucy. Her eyes widened and she let out a scream as she threw her arms around her in a tight embrace. 

“So Juliet, how have you been?” She asked, 

“I've been fine thank you.” Juliet replied, she felt rather at home in their house. It was rather quaint and cozy and had wooden walls and old dusty furniture. It was wonderful. 

“Say, where’s RJ?” Juliet asked her friend, 

Lucy sighed lovingly at the thought of her husband. “He's off fighting again, don't know when he'll be back…” She sighed. “Can you even imagine being married to a soldier!?” 

Juliet laughed nervously. “Yeah...yeah…” She was still a little troubled by that. She wasn't entirely sure that MacCready was telling the truth. The whole “soldier thing” seemed all too shady. But knowing how happy it made Lucy, she kept her mouth shut. Finally she asked her. 

“Do you know where he’s stationed?” She asked, Lucy nodded. 

“Yes, he's stationed by Arefu. May god bless him.” She replied, 

“...I see…” Juliet said, 

Later that night, Juliet snuck out and headed for Arefu. It was dark so she knew she had to be quiet and stealthy if she didn't want to get caught. Not far from her hiding place she saw a shadow crouched behind a bush like her. 

She squinted her eyes to make out the figure. 

It was MacCready…

She watched in suspicion as he waited in silence looking up at the bridge that Arefu was settled on. It was as if he were...waiting for someone…

After a while, they both saw a man emerge from one of the huts. She then saw MacCready loading his sniper rifle and aimed it at the guy. Juliet’s eyes widened. 

‘No...no he couldn’t be…” She thought, 

MacCready waited a minute and then he finally pulled the trigger. A loud gunshot rang throughout the area causing a few birds to fly up in the air. The man he aimed at was now dead. 

“I knew it…” She hissed under her breath, “He's not a soldier…” The mayor then noticed that MacCready was getting up from his hiding place to leave. She stood up as well and spoke up. 

“RJ?” 

MacCready froze. He slowly turned and noticed her. His eyes widened. 

“Juliet? What are...what are you doing here?” He asked her, 

“I was going to ask you the same question…” Juliet folded her arms across her chest. 

MacCready knew that he was caught, but it was worth a shot to try to sneak his way out of this one. 

“Uh...yeah! But you know, a soldier’s work is never done.” He said, 

Juliet, now not at all fooled replied sarcastically, “You're a soldier? Right, and I'm a magical blue Brahmin with three heads and wings.” 

Knowing that the jig was up, MacCready sighed defeated. 

“Alright...you got me...I’m...I’m not a soldier…” He confessed, 

“Right, you're a mercenary...you kill people for a living…” Juliet replied, 

“Juliet…” He said softly, 

“Why did you lie to us?” 

“Juliet…” He raised his voice a bit, 

“Why did you lie to Lucy!?” 

“JULIET!” He finally yelled, 

Juliet shut up and listened. 

“Listen to me, I hate lying to Lucy but I’m doing it to support her. The amount of caps I get for this job are incredible. It can support us. I need to do this. But I don't want to lose her. If I tell her the truth, she might leave me...and I don't want to lose her. I can't lose her. Not now.” 

“But you shouldn't worry about her leaving you…she'll love you no matter what…”

“It's not just that, Juliet…” MacCready sighed, 

“...Lucy and I are expecting a child…” 

It felt like time had stopped for Juliet. Her eyes widened and she slowly cupped her hands over her mouth. Then she smiled bright. 

“RJ...a baby…?” 

MacCready hesitated but then nodded. 

The blonde ran over to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. She could feel MacCready wrap her arms around her and held her close. After a while they parted from the hug and she smiled at him. 

“I won't tell Lucy…” She said, 

MacCready looked relieved, “Thanks Jules…” 

She then took his hand. “Come on, let's take you home.” 

They then turned around and headed for the settlement.


	16. Chapter 15: "A Newborn"

**A Few Months Later:**

Lucy was getting bigger and bigger as the days went on. Eventually she reached the point where the weird cravings were getting worse. 

“Hey hon?” Lucy called out to her husband, she was in their shack house laying on the couch with her pregnant belly up in the air. 

MacCready came into the room from down the hall. “Yeah?” He asked her, 

Lucy rubbed her belly. “I'm feeling hungry again.” 

“What? But you just ate twenty minutes ago!” He pointed out, 

The pregnant woman just smiled and shrugged. “Well, that shouldn't be surprising, I’m eating for two after all.” She got up from the couch and walked over to him and dropped a few bottle caps in his hand. “Be a dear and grab something from one of the vendors for me?” She asked him, 

MacCready sighed, he couldn't say no to her. “Alright, what can I get you?” He asked her, 

“You know what? I could go for some Sugar Bombs.” She said, 

He nodded, “Okay.” 

He came back five minutes later with a box of Sugar Bombs. He handed them to her. “Here you go.” He said, Lucy took the box from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then went over to the cabinets and pulled out a bowl. She poured the cereal into it and then poured a whole bottle of Nuka Cola in as well. 

MacCready just watched her in confusion. “You're having soda with your cereal?” 

Lucy began to eat it and smiled up at him. “Yep.” She chirped, 

“Okay, first of all, that's disgusting. Second of all, I don't think it's healthy for the baby.” MacCready told her, 

Lucy waved him off. “Oh it's fine! The baby’s gonna love this!” She looked down at her tummy and began to rub it again. “Do you like this, sweetie? Do you like the food?” 

The sniper couldn't help but crack a smile then. Seeing his wife talk to his unborn baby warmed his heart. 

But things only got harder from there. Then...the mood swings started…

“Oh my god I can't believe it!” Lucy cried, she sobbed into MacCready’s shoulder as he held her and rubbed her back. 

“Lucy, it's no big deal.” He assured her, 

“But I broke the scope on your gun!” She cried, MacCready left his sniper rifle leaning against the wall in the living room and Lucy accidentally bumped into it causing it to fall to the floor. Thankfully it wasn't loaded so it didn't go off, but the fall caused the the scope to break. 

“Lucy, calm down. It was an accident. I'm not mad. I'll get it fixed, okay?” He said trying to soothe her, pregnant woman and their hormones...Eesh...

This behavior continued on all throughout Lucy’s pregnancy. On the one hand, it was driving MacCready absolutely mad, on the other hand he knew it was worth it to bring a new life into the world. Granted, he wished that their child could be born in a better world, but this one would have to do. 

Time flew by until finally the nine months were almost up. According to their settlement’s doctor, the baby was due any day. Everyone was excited for the new arrival. 

One sunny morning the birds were singing and the air was warm with the hot and humid August air. 

“It's so nice to see you guys again.” Lucy said as she poured three cups of tea, Juliet, Chelsea, and Penny were sitting on the couch in the small living room. Chelsea took another week off to visit her pregnant friend and Juliet decided to temporarily settle “Lights of D.C” close by Lucy and MacCready’s settlement so she could help them if they needed it. When the two friends decided to go visit them, Penny insisted that she tag along too. 

Juliet smiled, “It's good to see you too, Lucy.” 

Chelsea took a surprisingly delicate sip of her tea and set the cup down on the coffee table then looked to Lucy who was now sitting down in the worn out fabric chair. 

“So, the doctor said the baby should be here soon?” She asked, 

Lucy nodded, “Yep, any day. RJ and I already got the crib set up. We're so excited.” 

“What do you think the gender’s gonna be?” Juliet asked curiously, 

“We don't know, it's either a boy or a girl we know that much. However, I'm guessing it’s going to be a boy.” Lucy smiled, 

“Oh well won't that be cute!? A little RJ running around!” Penny squealed, 

Chelsea shuddered, “Eesh, no thanks. One RJ’s enough.” She said, this comment earned her a punch in the arm from Juliet. The mayor looked back to her friend. 

“Don't listen to her, Lucy. I'm sure your baby will be beautiful.” 

Lucy smiled and even tested up a little. “Thanks Juliet, you guys are the greatest friends I could ever ask for!” 

Chelsea took her hand and patted it. “Hey hey, now. Don't get all emotional on us.” She said, Lucy wiped her eyes and smiled at them. 

“Thank you…” 

A few hours later, MacCready returned from his job and was happy to see the other three girls again. The five of them talked for a little while longer and eventually Lucy stood up cracking her back. 

“I think I'll go for a walk.” 

MacCready stood up. “I'm coming too.” 

Juliet instantly followed. “I'm down.” She said, 

Lucy looked to Chelsea and Penny. “Can you two look after the place while we're out?” She asked them, 

“Sure.” Penny nodded, 

The three friends walked down the long dirt road. It was such a gorgeous day. 

Juliet closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. She exhaled. “Oh my gosh, this day’s beautiful…” 

MacCready nodded, “Yeah…” He then took Lucy’s hand. “But not as beautiful as Lucy…” The pregnant woman blushed and they shared a kiss much to Juliet’s discomfort. 

They continued to walk. The mayor looked to the mercenary and spoke up. 

“So uh, RJ. You excited about becoming a father?” Juliet asked him, 

MacCready nodded again, “Yeah, I'm thrilled. I can't believe that any day now, I'm gonna have a son or a daughter!” 

Juliet smiled, “I know...man, when did we become so old? It seems like only yesterday that we met.” 

The mercenary smiled looking back on the memory of the night that the two of them met. “Yeah, we were ten years old, right?” 

“You were ten, I was nine,” Juliet corrected him, “But wow, has  
the time flown by. Now you and Lucy are going to be parents.” 

MacCready laughed nervously. “Yeah...yeah…” 

Juliet noticed her friend’s looks of enthusiasm. “What's wrong? Isn't that what you want?” 

“Of course it is...it's just...what if I'm not a good father. I mean look at me! When people see me the word “father” wouldn't be the first word to pop into their heads. I want to be a good dad, but what if something goes wrong? What if something happens to it?” 

The dirty blonde put a hand on her best friend’s shoulder and smiled at him. He looked at her helplessly. 

She still smiled. “Nothing will happen to it, and I can tell you'll be an excellent father.” 

“Aww, you're just saying that.” He smiled blushing a little, 

“No, I'm serious!” Juliet retaliated, 

“How can you be so sure?” He asked her, 

“Because...I know you...and I know Lucy...you both are two of the most loving and caring people that I’ve ever met. You're the bestest friends that anyone could ever ask for...I know you can do this…” 

MacCready felt himself tear up a little bit. He was never the weepy type. Ever since he was little, he felt that crying showed weakness. He had probably only cried two times in his whole life, once when he was really little, and when he turned sixteen and said goodbye to Juliet and left “Little Lamplight”. 

He patted her hand that was still on his shoulder and smiled at her. 

“Thanks Jules.” 

It was then that they noticed that Lucy started to fall behind. Both Juliet and MacCready noticed this and looked back at her. 

She breathed in and out but waved them off. “I'm okay, you two go on ahead and I'll try to keep up.” She said, she didn't look like she was able to keep up, she was breathing heavily in and out, and she looked as if she were going to faint. 

They hurried over to her and helped her to stand up straight. 

“Lucy, are you okay? You need some water?” Juliet asked, she used her free hand to grab the filled canteen from her belt. 

Lucy waved her off again. “I’m-I'm fine, Juliet. Really.” Suddenly she clutched her stomach in pain and began to scream which concerned the other two. They took her to a nearby tree and sat her down. 

“Lucy!? What's going on!?” MacCready asked his wife worriedly, 

Lucy tried to calm her husband. “I'm fine, sweetie, I’m just having--AGH!” She cried out again. It was then that Juliet noticed a large wet spot seeping through Lucy’s jeans. 

MacCready noticed this too and looked at Juliet. “What!? Juliet, going on!?” 

Lucy then grasped MacCready’s hand. He looked at her as she whimpered in agony. 

“RJ...the baby's coming…” 

The mercenary’s eyes widened and he began to freak out. 

“Oh my god! The baby's coming!? What do we do!? What do we do!?” 

Juliet held her hands up in front of him trying to calm him down. 

“Whoa whoa, RJ! Calm down! We gotta think!” She said, 

“Can we walk her back to the settlement?” MacCready asked, 

Juliet shook her head. “No, not while she's giving birth! Okay, okay, uh...hmm let me see…” She put her hand to her temple as she struggled to think. 

“I GOT IT! This area is highly populated! Let's carry her down the road and see if we can find some place to put her. Somewhere better than here.” 

MacCready nodded, he struggled to pick his wife up and they began to carry her down the road trying to find a place to go. After a few minutes of waking, they saw a small farmhouse in the distance. It looked a lot similar to Juliet’s old home only the structure was slightly larger and there was a barn in the backyard. 

Juliet pointed towards it. “There! We can go there!” She told him, MacCready nodded and looked down to his wife who was in a lot of pain. 

“We’re almost there.” He said softly, 

Lucy gripped his flannel tightly as she felt another big contraction coming on. 

“G...Good…” She gritted, 

They hurried up the front porch steps of the house and Juliet banged on the door. In no less than a few seconds, the door wa opened by a middle-aged couple with grey hair and wrinkled skin. They looked understandably surprised at seeing the strangers on their doorstep. 

“Uh...can I help you?” The man asked, his voice had a thick country accent to it. 

“Yes you can! Our friend here is giving birth, but we're too far from the settlement to go back! Could we please have the baby here?” Juliet pleaded, 

The man then nodded. “Oh! Yes of course!” He said, 

Then the wife spoke up. “Follow me.” She gestured for MacCready to follow her. He carried Lucy over the threshold as the wife led them up the stairs. 

Juliet entered the home too and looked to the man smiling. “Thank you so much, sir.” She said, 

The man smiled back. “Ah, don't mention it. Anything to help your friend.” He said, Juliet then gave him a nod and headed up the stairs to join her two best friends. 

The farmer’s wife opened the door to one of the bedrooms and allowed MacCready to step inside first sill carrying Lucy who was having more contractions. 

“Okay, lay her down on the bed.” The wife instructed, 

MacCready did as he was told and laid Lucy down on the bed. The pregnant doctor was trembling as breathing heavily hoping it would ease some of her pain. 

Her husband looked to the old lady who just smiled. “Don't worry, we went through this same scenario when our daughter gave birth. We just gotta keep her on the bed and keep her head elevated and help her in any way we can.” 

MacCready nodded, he went over and knelt down beside the bed and took his wife’s hand. 

“How you holding up?” He asked her, 

Lucy shook as she squeezed his hand tightly. “I'm scared.” 

“It's alright, I'm here.” He said in an attempt to comfort her, just then Juliet entered the room. 

“Are you okay, Lucy?” She asked her friend, 

Lucy nodded, “The contractions have gone down a bit, but that doesn't mean they won't come back…” 

Back in “Lights of D.C”, Lucy, being the medic, had to perform a few deliveries in those two and a half years. Some of the “Big Town” kids were now adults and decided to get busy and start their families right away. Some of the labors were rough, others were not so much, either way, the young medic never thought that she would ever go through such a thing. 

“I'm gonna go back and get the others, okay?” Juliet said, she patted Lucy’s hand that was still interlocked with MacCready’s. “Be strong.” Then she turned and ran out of the room. 

About twenty minutes later, Juliet came back with Chelsea, Penny, Zip and Princess. They waited outside in the hall while they heard Lucy’s blood curdling screams on the inside. 

Zip was once again shaking as he took a swig out of a bottle of Nuka Cola. “D-D-Do you guys th-think she'll be al-alright?” He asked the others, 

Penny put a hand on Zip’s shoulder. “I'm sure she's going to be fine.” 

Chelsea then gave him an odd look. “Uh Zip? Maybe you should lay off the Cola, don't you think?” 

The Nuka Cola addict returned the strange look. “Hey, when I’m stressed I drink a lot of soda, okay? It's the only drink that calms me down.” 

“Now that's a sentence you don't hear everyday.” Princess sniggered, 

Juliet smiled and rolled her eyes at her friends and looked back to the room in worry for her friend. She wondered what was going on in there. 

Lucy continued to scream as her contractions got worse. MacCready stayed by her side holding her hand the whole time not letting go for even a second. He started to cringe in pain and nearly cry as her grip on his hand got tighter to the point that she could crush it. 

“AGH! RJ! RJ THIS REALLY HURTS!!!” Lucy yelled, 

MacCready just stroked her hair trying to soothe her. “I know but it will all be over soon. I promise.” 

It was then that Lucy grabbed the collar of his red flannel and pulled him close so that their faces nearly touched. 

“You...YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!” She roared, the mercenary was now feeling legitimate terror of his wife. 

“I'm..I’m sorry…” He whimpered, 

“YOU ASSHOLE!!! THIS HURTS LIKE HELL!!! I OUGHTTA PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE FOR THIS!!!” 

MacCready then looked to the farmer’s wife who was now checking Lucy’s status. She just smiled at him trying to ignore Lucy’s vulgarity. 

“Don't worry, she doesn't mean any of it, it's just the pain, it'll pass.” She assured him, MacCready nodded and turned his attention back to his wife. 

Lucy now looked a lot more calm but obviously still in a lot of pain. She looked at him with sorry eyes. 

“Baby I'm sorry I yelled, I didn't mean it, I’m glad we're having this child...I love you…” 

MacCready just squeezed Lucy’s hand tight and replied, “It's okay. I love you too…” Lucy smiled as her already red cheeks got even redder but the nice moment was interrupted by the farmer’s wife. 

“Okay, we’re ready to push!” She said, she removed Lucy’s jeans and underwear and prepared to push. 

“Okay, on three...One...two...three !” 

Lucy started pushing with all of her her might. It hurt so much but she was willing to get it over with. 

“RJ!!!” She cried out in pain, she squeezed his hand causing him to wince again and they counted to ten and Lucy released. 

“Okay good. Only a little bit more and the baby will be born.” The wife said, 

They repeated the procedure a few more times, they were already starting to see the baby’s head and Lucy was only a few more hard pushes away from being a mother. 

They continued to repeat the procedure, each time being more painful than the last, finally it was time for the final push. 

“Okay, this is it. One more push and the baby will be here.” She said, 

Lucy looked over to MacCready and began to cry. 

“RJ that last one was so painful I don't think I can do it again!” She yelled, 

“I know, but you have to.” MacCready told her,

“But I'm really scared now!” Lucy said, 

“Don't be. Remember, I'm right here. I'm not leaving you.” 

Lucy gave him a smile again as her chest heaved in and out and the sunlight coming in through the window shined on her sweaty head and chest. 

“Come on, one more push.” The wife said, 

“Yeah, do it, Lucy...do it for our child…” MacCready said, 

Lucy then suddenly got the courage to birth this child and sat up ready to push. She looked to the wife. “I'm ready.” She said, 

The middle-aged woman nodded and prepare to begin. Lucy took one more look at MacCready who just held her hand to remind her that he was not leaving her side. 

“Okay...ready…? PUSH!!!” The woman yelled, 

A large bolt of excruciating pain shot through Lucy as she felt the rest of the baby coming out. She squeezed MacCready’s hand tighter than she had ever squeezed it and let out the loudest most chilling scream you could ever hear. 

The others heard the scream from outside the room. 

“It's the big one.” Princess commented, 

The scream lasted for a good ten seconds until it all went quiet. 

Lucy fell back on the pillow exhausted and out of breath. The room was then filled with the cries of a newborn baby. The farmer’s wife pulled the little miracle out, it was all bloody and screaming. MacCready felt his heart stop when he first laid eyes on the child. His child. 

The wife checked the gender and turned to the new parents smiling. 

“It's a boy.” She said, 

The two of them began to cry. 

“A boy! It's a boy, Lucy! Can you believe it!?” MacCready yelled joyfully to Lucy, there were tears in his eyes and he could see them forming in Lucy’s gorgeous brown eyes too. 

“Oh RJ! A healthy baby boy! This is the happiest day of my life!” She exclaimed, 

Once the baby was all cleaned up and swaddled up in a yellow blanket, he was handed to his mother. Lucy held the small infant in her arms as she cried tears of joy. She stroked the baby’s dark brown hair. He looked like his mother and father mashed together. He had MacCready’s face and skin tone and had Lucy’s nose, and a mixture of their hair between MacCready’s dusty brown hair and Lucy’s dark ebony locks. 

The little miracle suddenly opened his eyes and saw his parents for the first time. He cooed at them softly curious as to who they were. They both smiled down at him and felt their hearts melt when he let out an adorable yawn. 

Lucy gently stroked his cheek and in response he grabbed her finger with his tiny hand. Lucy giggled planting a kiss on his forehead. The baby boy then took notice of his father. He reached out for him and Lucy looked at MacCready smiling. 

“I think someone wants their daddy.” She said, she handed him the little bundle as he took it with caution. “Careful with his head dear.” She told him, 

Holding the small child in his arms changed the mercenary’s whole life. He felt a whole new part of him open up that he didn't even know he had. The baby smiled at his father and grabbed his nose causing MacCready to laugh. 

“Hey there, kiddo. We've been waiting a long time for you.” He said softly, after spending ten to twenty minutes passing the baby back and forth, the young medic told her husband that it was okay to take him out into the hall now to meet the others. 

The door to the bedroom opened and MacCready stepped out into the hallway carrying the baby in his arms. 

Everyone perked up when they saw the baby but still remembered to keep quiet so they would startle him. They all looked to their ex mayor wondering what the gender was. 

“It's a boy.” MacCready said with pride, they could see that he was crying now and he lowered the baby’s blanket so they could see his face. 

“Oh...RJ he's beautiful…” Juliet whispered, 

“Adorable…” Chelsea agreed, 

MacCready then looked back to Juliet. “Do you wanna hold him?” He asked her, 

Juliet hesitated. “Oh...no I couldn't.” She said 

“No, come on, I insist.” He said, he then put the baby in Juliet’s arms and she looked down at him. She looked into his icy blue eyes to see MacCready looking right back at her. 

The baby looked back up at her and just giggled and cooed and at her grabbing a fistful of her dirty blonde hair. 

Juliet felt her heart warm as she held the baby. She instantly loved it as if it were her own. 

She looked up at the baby’s father. “...What are you gonna name him…?” She asked, 

MacCready still smiled once again showing his pride. “Duncan, his name is Duncan.” 

Juliet then smiled back down at Duncan. 

“...It's very nice to meet you, Duncan…”


	17. Chapter 16: "Life Is Cruel"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS, GORE, AND CHARACTER DEATH

Duncan cooed as he played with his toys on the floor. He grabbed his toy car and rolled it on the rug. 

“Vroom! Vroom!” He yelled imitating a running motor engine. 

“Come on, Duncan. Come to me.” MacCready urged his son, Duncan put his car down and started crawling around on all fours. He donned faded blue footie pajamas. He was now a little over a year old and it was about time he was going to start walking. However, it seemed like the young boy wasn't enthusiastic about that at all. 

“Come on, Duncan.” His father encouraged him again, Duncan sat on his bottom and looked at his dad and titled his head and gurgled and let out a happy squeal. 

The mercenary walked over to Duncan and took his small hands in his. He lifted the boy to his feet and backed up a bit. 

Just then Lucy came into the living room from down the hall carrying the basket of laundry. She smiled at her two special men. 

“Come on.” MacCready said, 

Duncan then understood and smiled as he waddled over to MacCready. When he finally reached him, MacCready picked him up and lifted him up high above his head. 

“Good job, Duncan! You did it!” He said happily,   
Lucy smiled and set the basket down on one of the side tables and wrapped her arms around her husband’s chest hugging him from behind. 

“He’s getting so much better at walking.” MacCready told his wife, 

Lucy giggled. “He's a fast learner.” She pointed out, 

“Hehe, yeah, kind of like me…” He replied, 

Lucy kissed MacCready’s cheek and then took Duncan in her arms so she could feed him. She opened her shirt and let Duncan breast feed off of her. Their baby had almost doubled in size and tripled in weight in his first year. About a month or two after he was born he began to crawl. He was growing fast. When he was done, Duncan let out a yawn and fell asleep as Lucy lightly rocked him in her arms. 

“Someone’s tired. I'll put him to bed.” She said, she then took off down the hall to their room where they kept his crib. She reentered the living room and sat down on the couch. She looked over at her husband and gave him a flirty smile as she patted the spot next to her. 

MacCready smirked as he took a seat on the couch next to Lucy. The medic smiled and stretched tiredly and leaned into him resting her head on his chest. 

She looked up at him and looked him in the eye. 

“I love you…”

Those three words...Every time Lucy said those words, the mercenary would feel this warm happy feeling explode in his chest. He was bold and gave Lucy a passionate kiss on the lips. Lucy’s eyes widened she started kissing him back. They held each other tightly. MacCready was still in awe. It was already a year and he still couldn't believe that he was a dad. Duncan had changed his life, he, along with Lucy, were the best things that ever happened to them. He vowed that he would protect them for the rest of life until the day he died. 

He saw to it that he was never going to lose them. 

They stayed like that for awhile until a disgusting stench burned through the hairs in their nostrils. 

“Phew! Someone needs their diaper changed.” Lucy said, 

“Don't look at me, I'm not doing it!” MacCready said holding his hands up, 

“Fine, then I guess there’s only one way to settle this…” Lucy said seriously, 

They counted to three and threw their hands down. Lucy had her hand flat out while MacCready had his hand in a fist. 

Lucy smirked. “Paper beats rock, honey.” She taunted, MacCready groaned as he got up from the couch. 

“Ugh! Fine.” He headed for their bedroom while Lucy just giggled.

A few weeks later, the sun shone in MacCready’s face waking him up. He shielded his eyes from the light with his hand and sat up in bed. He smiled at Lucy who was sleeping soundly next to him. She turned over still asleep with a contented smile on her face. He ran a hand through her hair and gave her a kiss on her forehead before getting up. He walked over to Duncan’s crib that rested at the foot of the bed. They had another room in the small shack house but they decided that they would give it to him when he was a little older and less dependent on them. 

MacCready smiled down at his son as he saw the sun coming in from the open window shine down on him. He then noticed Duncan was stirring and the baby boy slowly awoke. His vision was blurred but he already recognized his father’s face. 

Duncan smiled and yawned as he rubbed his eyes with his fists and smacked his lips together. He began to suck his thumb. 

MacCready reached into the crib and pulled Duncan out and softly bounced him in his arms. “You sound hungry, come on.” 

MacCready sat Duncan on the floor and went to grab a can of baby food that Lucy managed to concoct from corn and tatos. He went back and sat with Duncan on the floor and opened the can up. He scooped up a spoonful. The mercenary attempted to spoonfeed his son but Duncan suddenly got all fussy and refused. 

“Come on, Duncan.” MacCready told him, he tried again but the one year old turned his head to the side trying to avoid eating it. 

“Duncan,” He said his voice starting to sound irritated, he wasn't in the mood for this. “Be good and eat your food.” 

“Mm-mm!” Duncan grunted in rejection. 

MacCready was really starting to get fed up. Then he got an idea. He smirked. 

“Okay Duncan, you win. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.” He said nonchalantly, Duncan then let his guard down and he laughed letting his mouth open. Before he could object, MacCready popped the spoon into his mouth and then pulled it out. Duncan’s face instantly displayed a pout as he chewed on the baby food. MacCready was laughing at how silly his son always looked when he was upset. 

He kinda looked like him when he was younger. 

He chuckled to himself but stopped when he felt the baby food which was now warm and gooey from being in Duncan’s mouth hit his face covering his right eye. Wincing in disgust, he used the back of his hand to wipe the chewed up remnants of corn and tatos away. He looked at his son a little ticked off at what he had done. The one year old just laughed at his father’s expense. The mercenary’s look softened and his lips curled into a smile at his son’s joy. He just couldn’t stay mad at him. 

“Hey you little rascal, come here.” He said scooping him up, he then mercilessly tickled Duncan’s sides causing the boy to giggle like a little maniac. Lucy stumbled into the room and sleepily rubbed her eyes with her arm. Her pajamas, if you could even call her underclothes pajamas, were wrinkled and her ebony hair was a tangled mess. She smiled at them playing together. She walked over and took Duncan from MacCready. 

"Good morning, how are my two special men doing?” She asked giving her son a kiss on the nose, 

MacCready stood up and ruffled Duncan’s deep brown hair. “Eh, Duncan’s not a fan of the food you made.” He replied, 

Lucy laughed at that. “Silly boy.” She then told MacCready to go get ready for the day and that she would take over with feeding Duncan. 

Later that day, a messenger arrived at their door with a note for MacCready. He handed the mercenary the envelope and bid them both good day. 

He opened the envelope as Lucy approached him bouncing Duncan in her arms. “What does it say, dear?” She asked him, he pulled out a folded up piece of paper and unfolded it to reveal a note. It read: 

_My Dear Friend, RJ_

_I am writing to inform you that your talents are required at the Eastern front by Megaton. We need you to come and accompany us in the fight against a horde of Super Mutants that have been terrorizing the town. You are free to bring your family if you wish, they will be safe with us. I hope you consider lending us a hand…_

_Best wishes,_

_—Albert_

Lucy looked to her husband who now had a look of concern on his face. 

“...RJ…?” She finally spoke up, 

“...I have to help him…” Was all MacCready said after this, 

“Well then we’re coming with you.” She said abruptly, 

He looked to her surprised, “No, no way in Hell. It’s too dangerous, Lucy. I can’t let you come with me.” He said shaking his head, 

“RJ, Duncan and I will be alright. Albert even said so himself, you can bring us along if you really need to.” She assured him, “Besides, I may be a mother now, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t still hold my own.” 

“But, what about Duncan?” He asked her, 

“He’ll be fine. Come on, RJ. It’ll all be alright.” She said, she then took his hand in her free one. He then just smiled at her and took her and Duncan in his arms and held them in a tight embrace. 

They packed up their things and a few days later they departed from their beloved settlement and promised the other residents that they’d return home soon. They began to travel slightly Westward towards Megaton only stopping when their feet started to hurt, the weather got bad, or it was nightfall. They lived only off of cans of pork and beans and bottles of Aqua Pura and relied on some blankets and each other's body heat for warmth. Both parents knew to keep Duncan close as well as their weapons. Lucy hadn’t used a gun in a long time but she was still very experienced. 

After about a day and a half of traveling, they began to pass through downtown D.C. Lucy was carrying Duncan on her back and they knew that Megaton was still a ways away. 

“Are we getting closer?” Lucy asked her husband, 

MacCready turned to her. “Yeah, about another day or two and we’ll be in Megaton…” He replied, it was then that they noticed that dark clouds started to gather up in the sky and thunder rumbled lowly.

Then they felt rain begin to come down. First it was a few drops then a few seconds later it became a complete downpour. 

Duncan began to cry from being pelted by the rain and Lucy pulled him out from the carrier she had strapped to her back and repeatedly bounced him in her arms shushing him. 

“Shh shh shh! It's okay, honey. Mommy’s here, sweetie.” She said softly to him, 

It was then that the rain got heavier and there was even a sudden flash of lightning followed by another thunderclap and Duncan cried even louder. 

Lucy looked to her husband desperately. “Honey? What do we do?” 

MacCready looked around hastily trying to find a place to seek shelter. He looked to his right and a metro station caught his eye. 

He pointed towards the abandoned metro. “There! We can rest there for the night!” He told her, Lucy held Duncan close to her chest as they made a break for the metro station. They hurried down the large concrete steps and bolted through the gate. 

The metro station was dark, quiet, and kind of scary. MacCready thankfully had a lantern packed and lit it with a match as they continued to travel deeper into the station. The place was in terrible shape. The walls were covered with grime. Trash, vermin, and skeletons littered the floor, and the fact that they were alone made it a whole lot worse. 

Lucy spread the blankets out on the floor and laid Duncan down on them as MacCready looked around making sure it was safe. He kept his sniper rifle loaded and cocked ready to attack anything that posed as a threat to him and his family. After a while of not seeing anything, he let his guard down and went and sat with his wife and son. 

Lucy was smiling for she was cradling a sleeping Duncan in her arms. The mercenary held his wife close while he softly stroked his son’s head. Little did they know that there was danger lurking nearby. Fearsome beady eyes glared at them from the shadows. 

Suddenly out of the shadows of the metro came a pack of feral ghouls growling and hissing and licking their chops craving the sweet taste of human flesh. 

MacCready and Lucy sprang to their feet and grabbed their weapons and aimed down the hideous monstrosities. The mercenary managed to shoot two while Lucy took out one. But the strength of the pack was too much as the ferals all ganged up on Lucy knocking her to the ground. The woman cried and shrieked as she felt her tender flesh be ripped apart and her blood spill from her body. But what was more painful was that MacCready could do nothing, nothing but watch in horror as the ferals continued to mercilessly tear her to shreds. He then noticed one of the ferals looked up from chewing on his dying wife and looked in his direction, Lucy’s own blood and guts hanging from it’s rotted teeth. He realized that he was looking at Duncan. 

The feral charged towards the baby but before it could strike, MacCready jumped in front of Duncan and shot the feral in the head causing it to explode. The gunshots along with the growling and Lucy’s cries caused Duncan to wake up and start crying again. MacCready grabbed Duncan and turned to run when a familiar scream rang through his ears. He turned back to see Lucy still being devoured by the mutated monsters as her body was now nothing but a bloody heap of flesh, bones, and guts. He felt sick, he felt like he was gonna puke, puke and cry at the same time. His heart shattered at the sight of the love of his life getting torn apart. He wanted to save her, but the damage was too great, he couldn't save her even if he took out the ghouls. There was only one obvious option…

...Run…

Hesitating, he turned and ran out of the metro station leaving Lucy who was now already dead to be dinner for the ferals. He began to run Eastward again towards home. 

It was another day in “Lights of D.C”. Everything seemed to be going right. 

Juliet was heading over to Eclair’s tent to grab something to eat. 

She took a seat at one of the stools and Eclair instantly set a bowl of vegetable soup in front of her. 

“Thanks Eclair.” She said politely, she took a slurp of her soup and it was then that one of the settlement’s messengers came running up to her looking rather shaken. 

“Mayor Juliet, I bring you news, ma’am.” He said,

Juliet smiled at the messenger not taking notice of his worried look. “Oh! Of course! What news?” She asked him, it was then that she finally noticed the man’s shaken expression. Her smile faded, she could tell it was bad news. 

“...What?” She said, 

“...It’s Lucy…”


	18. Chapter 17: "Broken Heart"

Juliet ran as fast as her legs could carry her. When the messenger told her those three words, she grabbed a bag and took off running for Lucy and MacCready’s settlement. 

Those three words…

...“Lucy is dead.”...

She couldn't believe it! Lucy was dead? But she can't be dead! She couldn't have died! She just couldn't have! 

As she traveled, Juliet had tears streaking from her eyes and her heart was broken in two. She had lost one of her best friends to a pack of ghouls. This was terrible! Lucy was gone, she was gone and she was never coming back. The settlement of “Lights of D.C” was now also grieving the loss of their beloved friend and medic. When she left, the entire settlement was already in mourning. Some people were crying while others were just somber, To make things worse, RJ and Duncan were now on their own. 

“No, they're not alone. They have us…” Juliet told herself, “Once I get there, I’ll be there for them no matter what…” She continued to run until the familiar settlement came into view. She ran through the entrance where one of the ladies whom she knew noticed her run in and went over to her. She had lighter blond hair that went down to her shoulders and and eyes that were a bright sky blue compared to Juliet’s dark blue ones. She looked rather sad too due to her face and eyes being red and tear stained. 

“Juliet.” She sobbed, she threw her arms around Juliet in a hug and squeezed her tight. 

“Hey, Janet.” Juliet squeezed back, they almost instantly pulled away to look at each other. 

“Is Duncan okay?” Juliet asked her, 

Janet nodded, “Yes he's fine. He's sleeping in the house.” 

“Where’s RJ?” Juliet said hastily, Janet’s sad expression didn't change. 

“He's on the roof, he hasn't said a word since he got back.” She explained, 

Juliet thanked her and headed inside the small shack house and climbed up the ladder to the roof. She opened the metal hatch and climbed up onto the roof and looked around until her eyes caught sight of a very familiar person. 

MacCready sat on the roof of his home just staring out into the nothingness of the Wasteland. His hat and a bottle of bourbon were at his side. Juliet felt her heart break for the second time in the last day, she knew that this destroyed him, it destroyed her too. She hoped that her arrival would cheer him up. She walked over to where he was sitting and spoke up. 

“Hey RJ.” She said somberly, MacCready didn’t reply, he didn't even look at her. Juliet understood why he was like this, and she didn't blame him. She then made a spot next to him and just looked out at the view with him. They were both really quiet, there wasn't even an occasional sniffle or cough, they were completely silent. 

The silence finally became too much and Juliet decided to be the first one to speak up. 

“Listen RJ, I’m so sorry about what happened…I want you know that I'm here for you...” She said, 

The mercenary didn't reply again and just continued to stare ahead of him. Juliet, still feeling bad for him, wrapped her arms around his midsection and sadly rested her head on his right bicep. 

They stayed like that for awhile. He never responded, he didn't return her gesture, he just sat there completely motionless with the exception of his breathing. Juliet didn't let go of him. She refused to let go. She didn't want to lose him either. Eventually the sky got darker and MacCready finally stood up as Juliet released her hold on him. He didn't say anything as he turned and headed towards the hatch to the roof. Juliet just stared after him and eventually went down the ladder back into the house as well. 

The next morning the sun was kind as it shone on Juliet through the open window warming her bed. She sat up stretching and let out a yawn. Janet insisted that since she was going to be in the settlement for a short while, she was more than welcome at the inn. 

She got up and threw her clothes on and got ready for the day. Once she was dressed she grabbed a bite to eat at the small cafe that was an add-on to the inn and went to go check on MacCready to see if he was okay. The night before after they both headed inside, she said goodnight to him and left the shack house and headed for the inn. She hoped that he was feeling somewhat better. Sure, she didn't expect him to be same ol’ RJ again, she understood that, but she didn't want him to be completely depressed either. 

She entered the shack house and looked around. 

“RJ?” She called out, “You home?” She looked around, the house looked deserted. She then heard a familiar babble and the mayor looked down to see Duncan at her feet smiling up at her. He let out a happy squeal and she smiled as she reached down to pick him up. If there was one thing that always made her smile, it was Duncan. 

She scooped him up in her arms and bounced him in the air. “Auntie Joowiet!” He said not being able to pronounce her hand correctly, 

“Hey there, little dude! How's my favorite little guy doing, huh?” She said to him, she then proceeded to tickle his side causing him to giggle. Juliet then snuggled him close to her and he curiously grabbed a piece of her dark blonde hair. Juliet laughed as he gave it a playful tug. 

Just then MacCready came into the living room from his bedroom. He looked terrible. His skin was paler, and his eyes were bloodshot and had dark bags under them, his chestnut hair was a mess and in his hand was a bottle of whiskey this time. 

Juliet sadly looked at him. He was drinking. She knew that Lucy’s death was so bad that he was trying to numb the pain by drinking. She knew it wasn't good for him, but she couldn't control his life. 

The dirty blonde tried to smile and be nice to him. “Morning, RJ.” She said, 

He just looked at her and didn't say anything and just walked past her out of the house. Juliet sadly watched him leave. 

Juliet remained there for another week or so before it was time to go back to her settlement. She zipped up her backpack, gave Janet the caps she owed her, and was on her way. She walked through the settlement one last time before looking back at MacCready’s place. She noticed that he was one the roof drinking again. She had decided that enough was enough. She needed to say something to him. She entered the house and climbed the ladder to the roof and spoke up sternly. 

“RJ, we need to talk. Right now!” She demanded, she never liked being stern or harsh with anybody who didn't deserve it, but she needed to get his attention. 

MacCready, of course, didn't reply. He took a sip of the beer he was drinking and just stared ahead of him. 

“Look I know it hurts, it sucks that she's gone! It really sucks! But you can't spend your whole life in misery! You're literally drinking yourself to death! I mean, it's fine to mourn and it's okay to drink a little bit when you're depressed, believe me I know, sometimes I really need a cold one, but you've really taken it over the edge! It's not good for you!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued to rant, MacCready didn't look at her. 

“You may think you're alone, RJ, but you're not. You still have Duncan, you still have our friends from “ Little Lamplight”, you have Chelsea...and...you have me…” She finished as she blushed some, “I know you better than this, RJ. You're stronger than this...it's going to be hard but we can get through this together...all of us. You need to pick yourself up right now Robert Joseph MacCready! Right now!” She yelled, 

Then things went silent. Juliet was breathing heavily in and out and finally sighed and went and sat down next to him. They were quiet for awhile until the mayor heard something she didn't junk she'd hear. 

“...It should’ve been me…”

Juliet lifted her head surprised, MacCready had just spoken for the first time in days. “What?” She asked him, 

“...It should’ve been me who died...Lucy didn't deserve it…I do...” He answered, 

“Why you? You haven't done anything.” Juliet said confused, 

“Yeah I have, I lied to her, made her believe that I was actually a good person. The person she fell in love with was someone who doesn't even exist. Now she's gone, and I never made things right with her...and I feel like it was all my fault…” 

Juliet put her hand on his shoulder in comfort. “RJ, there was nothing you could've done. There was just no way.” MacCready wiped his nose. 

“When she was attacked, I could've saved her, I could've stopped the ferals if I had given myself up to them so she could escape. She'd be here right now if it were me who had died…” 

Juliet gasped as her arms wrapped around him on an impulse. She buried her face into his shoulder and began to cry. This took the mercenary by surprise. 

“RJ NO! Don't talk like that! We need you here, I need you here! If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I’d do! You're my best friend, RJ. Do you hear me!? You're my best friend! You mean THE WORLD to me! I don't want you to EVER leave me! Not now, not ever!”

After a minute of crying, Juliet felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her as a hand stroked her hair. She looked up at MacCready. 

He was crying. 

He was actually crying and finally letting all of his emotions out. He was completely giving himself to her and turning to her for comfort. 

“You don't leave me either!” He cried, in response, Juliet held him tight and rubbed his back while she felt his chest heaving from his sobs and his now wet cheek against her own cheek. 

“...I'm right here, RJ…and I'm not going anywhere...you're not alone...” She cooed to him, 

“...You’re best friend is right here…”


	19. Chapter 18: The Agent and the Paladin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to have Chelsea be in the spotlight ^^
> 
> Also, this is before Danse becomes Paladin and six months before Soul Survivor thaws out.

**3 years later**

“Elder Maxson…” Lancer Captain Kells spoke up, the Elder of “The Brotherhood of Steel” who was looking out at the Commonwealth from a bird’s eye view up in the airship known as “The Prydwen”, turned to face the captain. 

“What is it you need, Captain Kells?” He asked him, 

“We have managed to capture a member of the organization known as “The Railroad”. We found him near Quincy being shot at by Gunners…” Just then, two Brotherhood scribes came into the room with a tight grasp on the Railroad agent. The frightened man struggled as he tried to break free of their hold. 

“What!? What is the meaning of this!? We “Take no Prisoners”, Captain! It's against what we stand for!” Maxson snapped, 

“Elder Maxson, please! This man has crucial information! During his search and seizure we intercepted a letter that was addressed to him from another agent about a synth transfer that might be going down tonight.” He explained, he then pulled out a small slip of paper that was dirty and slightly ripped. 

This got Elder Maxson’s attention. 

He held his hand out to Kells. “Let me see that…” He ordered, Captain Kells handed the letter to Maxson who began to read it over. 

_“Tick Tock”,_

_I have received word from Desdemona that Glory has managed to clear out the area by “Monsignor Plaza” and “Bunker Hill”, so it is safe for you and the others to move in. The escape goes down tonight. I have already met Old Man Stockton at “Bunker Hill” and informed him that we are ready…High Rise will also be there to accompany you, me, and the others along with the synths that need to be transferred. Meet everybody at the church by “Bunker Hill” and Old Man Stockton will bring them to us...I will be with you as soon as I can…_

_Stay safe…_

_—Shadow_

Elder Maxson looked up from the note and back at the Captain. “The exchange goes down tonight. We must stop them and whoever this “Shadow” is…” He said, 

“We have already had Proctor Quinlan look into it, her real name is Chelsea Love, her parents were synth rescuers as well.” One of the soldiers holding down the prisoner spoke up, 

“Were they members of “The Railroad”?” Maxson asked,

“No sir, they did it all themselves…” The soldier replied, ““The Brotherhood” killed them about ten years back. She's now one of “The Railroad’s” top agents.”

“If she is as big a threat as the records say she is, then she must be silenced, immediately.” Maxson said, 

“What do you want us to do?” Kells asked straightening up like a soldier, 

“...Send for Knight Danse…in order to take down this enemy, we’ll need our best Knight...” Maxson ordered, 

About twenty minutes later, a vertibird flew up into The Prydwen’s landing docks. It latched into one of the spaces and out came a handsome man with dark hair and stubble. He was in Power Armor that clanked loudly as he jumped off the small helicopter. He walked over to Elder Maxson and Captain Kells who were waiting for him. 

The man crossed his fist over his chest as soon as he saw the Elder. 

“Elder Maxson, what an honor to see you again, sir.” He said, 

Elder Maxson nodded and returned the gesture. “Knight Danse, welcome back, Knight.” He said, 

“Thank you, sir. You wished to see me?” He asked him, 

Maxson nodded, “Yes, we have a new mission for you. We need you to take out a few Railroad Agents…” 

“What is their location?” Danse asked, 

“In the Commonwealth, at the old church by “Monsignor Plaza”. Tonight they are planning to transfer runaway synths from “The Institute”. I am assigning you and a team to go in there and take them down before they can escape. “Take no prisoners”.” Maxson replied, 

Danse nodded, “Consider it done, Elder.” 

“Be safe, Knight. I know this a long trip from the Capital Wasteland, but this mission is very crucial to us. The one leading tonight’s escape is a top agent, highly skilled and considered a killer, she goes by the name “Shadow”...”

Danse then saluted his Elder again, “It would be an honor to silence an enemy of the Brotherhood. Whoever this “Shadow” is...Her crimes will not go unpunished...”

“Good. See to it that the synths, and each of the agents are killed…especially her...” Maxson then turned to go back in The Prydwen but he stopped. He turned back to the Knight. 

“Oh yes, and one more thing, Knight...If you succeed, then you shall be awarded the rank of Paladin…”

Danse’s eyes lit up. “...Paladin? Thank you, thank you so much, sir! I won't disappoint you!” He said gratefully, Maxson smiled and gave his best soldier a nod and went back inside The Prydwen. 

Captain Kells then looked to Danse and put his fist over his heart. “Ad Victoriam, Knight…” He said, finally he walked away. 

Danse then looked off into the distance. The Commonwealth looked so different from up above. He looked in the direction of “Bunker Hill”. 

“...I'm coming to get you…“Shadow”...” He said bitterly under his breath,

Chelsea could hear nothing but her own heavy breathing as she ran down the abandoned road. She was running out in the open yet she couldn't be seen for it was nighttime and she was using a Stealth Boy for cover. 

‘It shouldn't be much longer…’ She thought to herself, she then passed by “Bunker Hill” where she recognized the replica of the real Washington Monument in D.C. 

‘Good, there’s “Bunker Hill”. I'm almost there…’ 

Chelsea ran a little more until she finally reached the old church. She saw the other Railroad Agents along with the synths that they were transferring. 

When she approached them, her Stealth Boy wore off to reveal herself in black jeans and a black jacket. Her shoulder length black hair done up in a ponytail letting her bangs hang in her face almost covering her eyes. 

“Oh good, you're here, Chelsea.” High Rise said, 

“Good to see you again, High Rise,” Chelsea said, she then looked past him at the others. “Is everyone here?” 

“We’re missing one, Tick Tock.” One of the other agents spoke up, 

Chelsea’s smile faded, “That's funny. I was sure that he received my note. I hope he's okay.” 

“Nevertheless, we need to get going.” High Rise cut in, “Our top priority is getting these poor synths to safety.” He then gestured to the small group of synths that were shaking in fear of being caught and sent back to “The Institute”. 

Chelsea smiled and walked over to them. She always loved synths, ever since she was little she found them extremely fascinating. She saw them as an equal to normal people. That was what she told Desdemona when she first joined “The Railroad”. As far as she was concerned, synths were just as human as actual humans were. Maybe even more so. 

“Hey, how are you guys holding up?” She asked them, one of them, who was a woman with ginger hair with emerald eyes dressed up in a worn out flannel and jeans spoke up. 

“Please, we beg of you, please don't send us back there!” She begged, 

Chelsea just smiled at her. “We will do nothing of the sort. We're going to help you.” 

“Yeah, that's what the old man told us.” Another synth said, this one was male and had dusty blonde hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in farmhand clothes. 

Chelsea nodded, she then turned back to the other Railroad Agents. “Okay, let's go.” 

But suddenly out of the blue, several Brotherhood vertibirds landed right outside of the church. Out of each of them came a brigade of Brotherhood Knights and Scribes led by Danse. 

The Knights and Scribes began to shoot at the Railroad Agents and the Railroad Agents fired back. Chelsea pulled out another Stealth Boy and pressed the button causing herself to become invisible. She began to fire from her subnosed .44 pistol managing to take down a few scribes. 

High Rise jumped in front of the escaped synths and shot at one of the Brotherhood Knights. “Stay back!” He yelled to them, the synths obeyed without argument and they retreated into the church and prayed for this nightmare to be over. 

Danse emerged from one of the vertibirds and began shooting Railroad Agents with his laser rifle. “Ad Victoriam!” He yelled out, “The Brotherhood of Steel” attacked with no mercy but the Railroad Agents stood their ground. Only a few had fallen but the Brotherhood members were falling a lot faster and in larger numbers. 

Danse shot down two more agents which now left only High Rise and two other agents. The only Brotherhood members left standing were Danse and another knight. It was then that he noticed the only other remaining Knight was getting knocked around by a pistol that floated in mid air. Finally the pistol was aimed at the Knight and killed her in one shot. 

Danse aimed his laser rifle at the floating gun and pulled the trigger. Upon impact he heard a pained whimper and the Stealth Boy wore off to reveal Chelsea grasping her left arm in pain. The laser had scraped past her arm leaving a severe burn. 

Danse’s eyes widened upon seeing her. “You…you’re “Shadow”...” He said, 

Chelsea glared at him huffing and puffing and in a quick move grabbed the Gatling Laser from the Knight that she killed and began to shoot. The laser shot at Danse and he began to shoot back at the raven-haired woman and they were now engaged in a shootout. High Rise and the synths just watched in horror as Chelsea and Danse fought it out. 

“Chelsea!” High Rise yelled, 

Chelsea looked to him. “Go...get them out of here...RUN!!!” She yelled, High Rise and the synths wasted no time and hurried out of the area and ran off into the night. 

Danse then charged towards Chelsea and slammed her to the ground knocking the Gatling Laser out of her hands. 

He aimed his laser rifle in between her eyes, his finger on the trigger about to shoot her dead. He could see fear in her chocolate brown eyes and she was shaking like a leaf. 

Chelsea knew that this was it. She was going to die. She began to feel tears streaming from her eyes. Chelsea was never much of a crier, she had only cried three times in her whole life. When her parents and sister died, when she left “Little Lamplight”, and then now. She squeezed her eyes shut bracing herself for her inevitable death letting out heavy sobs all the while. 

Danse tried to block out her sobs and was ready to pull the trigger and put an end to “Shadow”. 

...But why was he not shooting?

Danse found that for some unknown reason, he was stalling. He lowered his gun and looked confused at Chelsea who continued to cry. 

Seeing her cry on the ground made the Knight see that maybe she was not really a bad person. For someone who was classified as a “highly skilled agent” and a “potential killer”, she was rather emotional. 

She was just a normal girl. 

But he was given orders to kill her, and he couldn't disobey his Elder’s orders. But yet, his need to fulfill his duty to the Brotherhood was clouded by a hint of sympathy and mercy. He felt his heart twinge a little and he realized that this was impossible…

...He couldn't do it...

He put his gun away and got off from on top of Chelsea and walked away from her a bit. Chelsea, realizing that he hadn't killed her, opened her eyes and saw him standing not too far away from her with his back turned to her. 

“...Go…” Was all he said, 

She sat up and wiped the tears from her now wide eyes. “...What?” She asked him surprised, “You're-you’re letting me go?” Chelsea was stunned, he was letting her live? A Brotherhood Knight was sparing a Railroad Agent? She stood up and walked over to him and looked at his face. When they stood side by side, Danse was of course a lot taller due to being in Power Armor. He looked at her. 

“You'd better get out of here before I change my mind.” He said threateningly, 

Chelsea stepped back a little, this was something she wasn't expecting. She then took his hand in both of hers and placed something in it. 

“...Thank you…” She said, then without another word she took off back towards “Bunker Hill”. Danse looked back at her as she ran away. He couldn't believe that he actually let her go. If Elder Maxson were to find out he spared an enemy of the Brotherhood, a top Railroad Agent, no less, he would get discharged, hell, they'd probably have him executed. What was he going to do?

He then felt something in his hand. He looked down to see that Chelsea had given him her dog tags. 

He knew what to do now…

“Were the agents and synths found?” Maxson asked Danse as he paced back and forth, 

Danse nodded, “Yes sir, they were exactly where I was told they'd be.” 

“...Any survivors?” He asked him,

Danse felt his throat tighten. He hesitated but then cleared his throat. 

“...Yes sir...there were no survivors…”

“And what of “Shadow”? Did you dispose of her?” 

“...Yes, Elder Maxson...she's dead…” Danse lied, he hated lying to his Elder, but he had no choice, how was he supposed to explain that he let her go? Plus, when she gave him her dog tags, she was basically telling him to lie saying she's dead. He didn't know why she actually did this but he had a clue. He believed that since he spared her life, she decided to spare his in return. 

It was a life for a life. 

He then pulled out said dog tags. “I have her dog tags right here…” He then dropped them into Maxson’s hand as he looked them over. Then he smiled. 

“So you have done it...another enemy of the Brotherhood is vanquished thanks to you, Knight. Now I shall stick to my word and award you for your efforts. You now hold the rank of Paladin…Congratulations…Paladin Danse...” He said humbly, 

Danse couldn't believe it! He was a Brotherhood Paladin! He felt tears well up in his eyes. “Thank you so much, Arthur! I won't let you down! I promise!” 

Maxson just smiled at his best soldier. “I know you won't.” 

Paladin Danse then proceeded to head to the command deck where the medic, proctors, bar, weaponry and the power armor stations were. He spotted Proctor Ingram repairing another Knight’s suit of power armor and Scribe Haylen was with her. He walked over to them. The Proctor looked up and noticed him. 

“Knight Danse. Welcome back.” She said, Haylen then looked at him too. 

“Welcome back, Danse.” She said, 

“It's Paladin Danse...I’m a Paladin now.” He smiled proudly, 

Haylen’s eyes lit up. “A Paladin!? You mean you got the promotion!?” She then hugged her friend. “Aww Danse that's great news!” 

Proctor Ingram nodded as well. “Yes congratulations, Danse. That's a really high honor. Now, I'm guessing the reason you're here is because you need your new armor checked out.” 

Danse nodded. “Affirmative.” 

Ingram sighed tiredly, “Alrighty then. Just give me a few minutes.” 

““Shadow”! You're back! Did the escaped synths make it?” Desdemona asked Chelsea as she saw her walk into The Switchboard, Chelsea smiled at the ginger with pride. 

“Yep, every single one of them are safe with High Rise…However I wish the transfer would have gone a bit more smoothly…” 

““More smoothly?” What do you mean?” Desdemona asked now a little troubled, 

“...We were attacked. By “The Brotherhood of Steel”...They somehow managed to find out about our transfer and decided to come and crash the party.” Chelsea explained, 

““The Brotherhood of Steel”, huh? I should have known…” Desdemona replied, 

“Yes, we sadly lost a few of our brothers and sisters in the fight, but the synths made it out okay.” 

The raven-haired girl noticed a familiar look of sorrow on her leader’s face. 

“Of course…” She sighed, “What happened to you? You look like something’s on your mind.” 

Chelsea froze up. Should she talk about how that one Knight let her live? Chelsea didn't know what to tell her. She still didn't quite understand it herself. Why did he spare her? She knew from personal experience that “The Brotherhood” was very touchy when it came to the disposal of their enemies. She decided to think up a lie. 

“Um...I just feel really beat up is all…” She lied, she didn't like lying, but no one would believe her so what was really the point of telling the truth? 

Desdemona then noticed the severe burn on her arm. “What happened to your arm, Chelsea?” She asked her, 

Chelsea once again took notice of it as well and put her hand over it ignoring the slight sting that came when touching it. 

“Oh this? Just a little laser burn from one of the knights’ laser rifles. I'll live.” She said waving her off, 

“Still, you should have Doctor Carrington take a look at it.” Desdemona insisted, Chelsea nodded and headed for the room where Carrington was working. “Tommy Whispers” caught sight of her walking in and decided to make small talk. 

“Hey there “Shadow”.” He said to her, Chelsea turned to him smiling, 

“Oh, hey Tommy.” She said, he noticed the burn on her arm as well. 

“You hurt yourself?” He asked her, 

“Yeah, got into a little scuffle with a Brotherhood Knight,” She nodded, “I was just going to Carrington to have it checked out.” 

“Well good luck Chels…” Tommy said sincerely, 

Chelsea winked, “Thanks, Tom.” She proceeded into the infirmary where Doctor Carrington was making sure all of his medical supplies were in order. 

“Yo, Carrington. I need a patch up.” Chelsea said walking in, the grumpy doctor rolled his eyes as soon as he recognized Chelsea’s robust and high-pitched voice. He turned to her. 

“Miss Chelsea, you're not dead. Did the synths make it?” He pointed out, 

“What? Not even a hello?” Chelsea teased pretending to sound hurt, 

“Listen I'm very busy right now so I don't have time for chit chat.” Carrington barked, 

“Well I'm sorry to bother you but I have an injury.” She sassed, 

The doctor sighed. “Fine. Let me see.” He said, Chelsea hopped up on the counter and showed him her burnt left arm. 

“Ah yes, a laser burn. I have an ointment for that...” He began to dig through the cupboards to get what he needed. 

“Hurry up.” Chelsea said rudely, after about a minute of going through his medical stuff, Doctor Carrington finally pulled out a small container of a clear liquid and opened the container dabbing some of it onto the burn causing the raven-haired girl to hiss in pain. When he was done, he wrapped her arm up in a bandage. 

“There, you're all patched up. Anything else bothering you?” He asked, 

“Nope, that about does it.” Chelsea said, 

“Okay then, don't die out there.” He dismissed her, 

The black-haired tomboy just scoffed, “You're a real ray of sunshine, you know that Carrington?” She asked him,

“I try to be.” He responded curtly, 

Chelsea left the medical room and ran a hand over her now bandaged arm lost in thought. What happened still troubled her. She didn't know if she should tell anyone in The Railroad yet. She didn't think Desdemona or the others would believe her. The very thought of a Brotherhood Knight saving a Railroad Agent was almost laughable, so much that it could be something that the other agents could joke about. But she felt like she needed to tell someone...someone who she could trust…

Then she thought of someone. 

“So let me get this straight. You were in a shootout with a Brotherhood Knight and then he let you go?” Juliet said confused, the two best friends were sitting in Moriarty’s saloon in Megaton. Juliet’s settlement had managed to travel more East and was currently stationed near the old western themed town. 

As soon as the Railroad Agent got word that Juliet was in the area, and Desdemona assigned her another mission there, she arranged for them to meet in Megaton so they could talk. Juliet only went to Megaton a few times in her life and she had to admit that nothing changed at all. 

“Yep, he just let me go. He almost killed me but then he didn't and told me to leave before he changed his mind.” Chelsea replied, 

“But, why would he let you go? You're a Railroad Agent. Isn't he supposed to hate you?” Juliet asked her, 

“That's what I thought. It doesn't make any sense. Did he just see me and feel pity? He certainly didn't seem to have trouble killing any of my friends. The Brotherhood sure didn't seem to have trouble killing my family. But why did this guy spare me? Why me?” Chelsea asked, 

The blonde let herself get lost in thought for a moment as she thought about this. She sipped her beer and hummed in thought. Finally she looked to her friend. 

“I'm honestly not sure, Chelsea. That's for you to determine.” 

“Can I get you two lovely ladies anything else?” A scratchy male voice asked, both the blond and the black-haired girl looked up to see the horrid ghoulish face of Gob. 

“Hey! Back off bucko! We're having a conversation here!” Chelsea snapped at him, Gob was taken aback. 

Juliet gave her friend a dirty glance and then looked to the ghoul barkeep apologetically. “Two more beers please.” She said, 

Gob smiled at her and gave a nod and went to go grab two bottles. 

“Chelsea you're thinking about this too hard. Let’s just call it a random act of kindness and leave it at that.” Juliet replied, 

The Railroad Agent thought it over a little bit. Then she smiled and nodded, “Yeah. Okay. I'll probably never see him again anyway.” 

Juliet nodded, then Gob brought the two friends their beers. Juliet thanked him and they went silent. Until Juliet got a playful smirk on her face and decided to embarrass her friend. 

“...Was he cute?” 

Chelsea choked on her drink and glared at her friend. “What!?”

“The Brotherhood Knight, was he cute?” Juliet asked her again, 

Chelsea just blushed as she took a small sip of her bottle of beer. Juliet took notice of this. 

“Ooooohhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Someone's blushing!!!” The blonde teased, 

Chelsea punched the mayor hard on the shoulder but Juliet didn't mind, she just laughed and rubbed her arm. Then Chelsea decided to embarrass her right back. 

“So…” She said as she played with her bottle, “How are you and Mac n ‘cheese doing?” 

Juliet’s face instantly went red as she punched Chelsea back. Chelsea was now the one that was laughing. 

“Shut up!” Juliet hissed, 

“But seriously, how are you two?” Chelsea asked, 

“If you're asking if we're together, the answer is still no.” Juliet deadpanned, 

“Aww come on! Make a move already!” Chelsea urged her best friend, 

“Oh no, I could never.” Juliet shook her head, 

“Why not!? It's been three years!” Chelsea pointed out, 

“Yeah, three years since Lucy died. RJ’s still very vulnerable. If I made a move now I would be taking advantage of him and I don't want to do that. Besides, I love Will.” 

“Yeah, right, Will,” Chelsea deadpanned as she took a swig of her beer, “Still, I think RJ’s a much better guy for you…” 

Juliet rolled her eyes, “Please! The day we get together will be the day you get with that Knight from “The Brotherhood”!” 

Chelsea instantly writhed in disgust and replied. “No way! When Brahmin fly!” Then both girls laughed.


	20. Chapter 19: "Sick"

The day was calm once again. The morning had a still breeze and the sun was just rising. 

A certain twenty two year old mercenary groaned as he turned over on his side and felt nothing beside him. MacCready opened his eyes and sighed in slight despair at the empty space in his bed. He sighed as he tried to go back to sleep. Sunlight shone through the window onto his face and he groaned again as he pulled the covers over his head to block out the light. 

Just then a young boy a about the age of four with medium brown hair and icy blue eyes came crawling up onto the bed and shook MacCready’s shoulder. 

“Dad...dad...dad, wake up!” The boy yelled in a whisper, 

MacCready groaned for the third time. “Ten more minutes, Duncan.” He said, 

“No dad, now. Come on!” Duncan urged his father, finally after a minute, the mercenary sighed as he sat up and tossed the sheets aside. 

“Okay, Duncan. I'm up, I’m up.” He said smiling, 

“Yeah! Come on, Dad! Let's go!” He cheered jumping off the bed, the four year old then dashed out of the room. MacCready just chuckled and shook his head. He couldn't get annoyed with his son for being eager. 

The father and son both got dressed and Duncan downed some Sugar Bombs before heading out for the day. They walked around the settlement as Duncan said good morning to the other residents. Eventually they found a few of the other dads in the settlement along with their kids. 

“Dad! Dad! It's my friends Evan, Milo, and Miriam! Can I go say hi?” Duncan begged his father, 

MacCready smiled down at his son. “Go on, kiddo.” He said, 

Duncan ran ahead of him as they approached the other fathers. The three men were laughing and talking about something that Duncan assumed was adult-related. 

“Hey fellas.” MacCready spoke up, the other three fathers noticed him and smiled. 

“MacCready! How are you my friend?” Milo’s father, Augustus asked, 

“Yeah, how’s the kid?” Asked Randy, Miriam’s father, 

“Duncan’s doing okay,” MacCready replied, “How are your kids?” 

“They're fine.” Warren replied, 

“Hey guys!” Duncan spoke up, the other three kids noticed him and smiled instantly upon seeing him. 

“Duncan!” Milo replied, he was a skinny kid with moppy blonde hair and black framed glasses. 

“Hey dude.” Evan added on, he had deep red hair and amber eyes. He and Duncan fist bumped. 

“H...Hey, Duncan.” Miriam shyly waved, she was a beautiful girl with cinnamon hair and eyes that matched Duncan’s. A light blush spread across her cheeks. It was obvious that she had a crush on the boy, however, none of the three boys seemed to notice. 

“You guys wanna go play?” Duncan asked them, 

Miriam nodded, “Sure! We can go play in the field.” 

Duncan then tugged at his father’s duster. “Dad? Can the three of us go play in the field for a while?” He asked him with puppy dog eyes, 

MacCready ruffled up his son’s hair and said, “Sure thing, kiddo. Just be careful and play nice out there.” 

“Yeah, that goes especially for you, Evan.” Warren said warning him, 

The red-haired boy grumbled, “Yes father.” 

The four kids then took off giggling. 

MacCready sighed as his smile slipped into a sorrowful look. “I'm worried about him.” 

The other fathers looked to the mercenary concerned. 

“Duncan’s a good kid, he's got a big heart. He got that from his mother, and he doesn't remember Lucy. I wish he could have known her.” 

The other three men looked at each other sadly. They felt real sympathy for the man. 

“You did all you could.” Warren told him, 

“I know. That's what I keep telling myself…” MacCready replied, 

Duncan, Evan, Milo, and Miriam were now running around playing freeze tag in the field that laid next to the settlement, more specifically, behind the families small farms that they had behind their houses. Duncan was “it” and had already got Milo and Evan, now he just needed to catch Miriam. 

“Hahaha! You can't catch me!” Miriam teased, 

“Yeah I can!” Duncan retaliated, he chased the four year old girl around the field while the others watched in laughter. Finally, Miriam climbed up a tree that was just barely getting it’s leaves back. She smirked at him devilishly. 

Duncan pouted, “Hey, no fair! You can't climb up places to avoid getting caught!” 

Miriam folded her arms across her chest and taunted him by sticking her tongue out at him. 

Then Milo spoke up. “Why don't we play something else now?”

“Okay, what can we play?” Evan asked as Miriam got down from the tree, 

Milo began to think. “Hmmm...how about “Hide and Go Seek”?” He suggested, 

“Nah, that's boring! Besides, there's not that many places to hide.” Evan waved him off, then he thought of a game. 

“You know...we could play “Truth or Dare”...” 

Miriam’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! That sounds like fun!” She turned to Duncan. “What do you think, Duncan?”

Duncan looked unsure. “I don't know, guys. My dad played that game when he was little and he said people got hurt.” He said, 

“Awww come on, Duncan! Don't be such a baby!” Evan teased him, 

Duncan’s cheeks went red. “I'm NOT a baby!” He rebutted, 

“Then prove it! Play with us!” Evan challenged him, “You can't always do what your daddy tells you to do.” 

Duncan looked down to the ground embarrassed, Evan was kind of right. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to play one game. 

“Okay.” He said, 

Evan smiled, “Good. I knew you weren't a baby. Alright who wants to go first?” 

Miriam’s arm shot up in the air, “Ooh! Me! Me! Me!” She said excitedly, 

Evan nodded, “Okay, Miriam. Truth or Dare?” He asked her, 

Miriam smiled as she thought about it. “Hmmm...Truth!” She said, 

“Do you or do you not have a crush?” He asked teasingly, 

Miriam’s eyes widened as she began to blush. “Well...um...I-I-um…” She nervously fiddled with her cinnamon colored hair. 

“Come on, spill it! Do you have a crush or not?” Milo encouraged her, 

Miriam finally responded, “No.” She lied, 

“Okay then,” Evan said believing her lie, he then looked to Milo. “Milo, truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” Milo said bravely, 

“Okay then, I dare you to…” Evan scratched his chin as he looked around the area. Finally he saw a large hole in the ground. 

“I dare you to go down into that hole over there.” He said, the four kids walked over to the hole and looked down. It was dark and scary. 

Milo’s face blanched when he saw how deep the hole went. “Uh...I-I don't know, Evan. It looks kinda scary.” He said, 

“Shut up, Milo. You're such a scaredy cat!” Evan teased again, 

“I-I am NOT!” Milo retaliated, 

“Just do it, Milo. You'll feel a lot better once you just get it over with.” Miriam said trying to soothe him, 

“Maybe Duncan’s right, guys. We should stop.” 

“Aww come on! You're really going to listen to that wuss?” Evan joked, this made Duncan mad. He suddenly felt a bolt of courage go through him and he marched towards the hole. His three friends were surprised at what he was doing. 

“Whoa, Duncan! What are you doing!?” Evan asked him, 

Duncan didn't reply, he didn't even turn to look at them. Instead, he just jumped down the hole. He slid down only a few inches until he reached the bottom. He looked around, the cavern was rather spacious but very shallow with a low ceiling. Suddenly he heard a hissing sound. He gasped as he swung his head around looking for any sign of danger. Finally a large mole rat came into view. It glared at him with cold red eyes. The four year old shivered as the vermin got closer and lunged at him. 

“You know something, RJ? I think it's about time you moved on. You know, find another girl.” Randy pointed out, 

“What? No, no. I couldn't.” MacCready replied blushing a little, “It's only been a few years since I lost Lucy and I don't think I'm ready yet. That and I'm busy with my job and Duncan that I don't have time for that kind of commitment. Besides, there's no one else out there.” 

Augustus cut in. “Not true, there’s that one girl that comes through here sometimes. What's her name? Uh...Jacqueline?” 

“You mean Juliet?” MacCready corrected him, 

He snapped his fingers and nodded. “Right Juliet. Maybe you could get with her.” 

The mercenary’s eyes widened as his blush deepened across his face. 

“What!? No, no, no! Fellas you’ve got it all wrong about us! Juliet and I are just friends, that's all.” 

It was obvious that the three other men weren't buying it. 

“I'm serious! She probably doesn't feel that way about me anyway! She has a boyfriend, you know. Trust me, right now I’m perfectly happy with it being just me and-.” 

“HELP!” A chorus of three familiar voices yelled, the four fathers turned to see Evan, Milo, and Miriam run up to them crying and terrified. 

“Miriam! What's wrong!? What happened!?” Randy asked her as he bent down to her level, 

“It's...It’s Duncan! Something’s happened to him! We don't what! But he passed out! He won't get up!” She shrieked, 

MacCready felt his heart stop as soon as he heard the little girl say that. Warren comforted Evan while Randy and Augustus picked up Miriam and Milo. 

“Where did it happen?” Warren asked his son, 

“We’ll show you!” Evan told him, 

The three kids and the four adults ran to the scene of the incident to see Duncan laying beside the large mole rat hole. He wasn't moving. 

“DUNCAN!” MacCready yelled as he fell to his knees beside his son. He scooped the unconscious boy up in his arms and held him tight. He shook his shoulder. “Wake up. Duncan, wake up...Come on...” He then felt his forehead. “He's burning up! I need to get him home, and someone get the doctor!” He yelled to the others, 

Augustus nodded, “I'll do it.” He then took off with Milo and Warren left with Evan as well. Randy and Miriam stood there for a moment watching the distressed mercenary continue to cradle his son sobbing all the while. 

Finally, Randy picked up his daughter and turned to leave as well. 

“Daddy? Will Duncan be okay?” She asked him, 

Randy looked at her and sadly shook his head. “We don't know yet, sweetheart.” He then began to walk away with her while Miriam looked over Randy’s shoulder at Duncan who still laid unconscious in his father’s arms. 

MacCready carried his son back to the settlement where word had already gotten out and everyone was asking what had happened. MacCready didn't answer them and took Duncan into the house to his room down the hall and laid him in bed pulling the blankets up over him. He just sat at his bedside holding his hand the whole time wishing that he would wake up. 

A few minutes later, the settlement’s doctor came to the house. Dr. Rosenow was a middle-aged man, with greying hair and aged eyes and wrinkled skin. He was kind and one of the few people there that MacCready really trusted. After all, he had been Duncan’s doctor since he was a baby. 

Dr. Rosenow came into the bedroom and saw both the unconscious kid and his worried father. He cleared his throat and MacCready turned to look at him. 

“Dr. Rosenow. Thank god you're here!” He said relieved, 

“What seems to be the the trouble here?” The doctor asked him, 

“I-I don't know! He was playing in the field and the next thing I know he's like this! Please try to help him, doctor!” MacCready begged, 

“Of course I'll help him. But I need you to stand back while I examine him.” He instructed, the mercenary nodded and obeyed. 

Outside of the bedroom, Duncan’s friends along with their parents were waiting for either MacCready or the doctor to come out with a diagnosis. 

Warren looked down at the frightened kids seriously. His eyes narrowed. “So...How did this happen?” He asked them, 

The three kids looked ashamed. They tried to avoid eye-contact until Evan finally fessed up. 

“...It was me…” He admitted, “We were playing “Truth or Dare” and I dared Milo to go down into that hole. He didn't want to because he was scared but Duncan went down instead.” 

“Evan! What were you thinking!?” His mother asked him, she wasn't angry with him, she was just confused. 

“I didn't know! I'm sorry! It was only a game.” Evan apologized, 

“Well, you're little “game” has caused Duncan to get hurt. I hope you're proud of yourself!” Warren said sternly, 

Suddenly his wife tried to calm him. 

“They're just kids, Warren. They didn't know any better.” She said, 

Miriam buried her face into the side of her mother’s leg. “Mommy? I'm scared for Duncan.” She said on the verge of tears, her mother picked her up and held her close in her arms and held her tight. 

“I know, baby...I know…” She said,

Just then, as if on cue, the door opened and MacCready came out of the room looking rather shaken. 

“Well? What did the doctor say?” Augustus asked, 

The brunette mercenary shrugged and shook his head. “He doesn't know yet. So far it's been only a fever. We'll just have to wait and see…” 

Milo nervously adjusted his glasses. “We’re-We’re sorry, Mr. MacCready. We didn't mean for this to happen!” He said, 

MacCready ruffled up his blonde hair. “It's okay. It wasn't your fault.” 

MacCready didn't sleep at all that night. He spent the entire night by Duncan’s side not leaving him except if he had to go to the bathroom. Eventually, exhaustion got the best of him and he figured that Duncan would be okay without him for now. He retreated to his room and almost instantly fell asleep. 

The next morning, he woke up and the first thing that came to his mind was Duncan. He walked across the small narrow hallway to his room. He opened the door and he nearly had a heart attack. 

All over Duncan’s body were blue boils. He was still breathing but he looked even worse than the night before. 

“Duncan.” MacCready said running over to his bed. The young boy weakly opened his eyes and noticed his father was now at his side. 

“...Daddy?” He said, he was feeling like hell. His fever was raging, the boils hurt when he touched them, and his body ached all over. 

The mercenary felt his forehead to feel the fever. “What's going on? How did you get these boils?” He asked, 

“I don't know, Dad. They just showed up overnight.” Duncan replied, 

MacCready managed to get Dr. Rosenow back over to the house again to check his condition. Duncan’s friends and their parents showed up for moral support, but they were strongly advised to stay clear of the room. They didn't want them to catch what he had and they knew they wouldn't want to see their friend in such a terrible condition. Dr. Rosenow was taken aback by the sickening sight of the blue boils and realized that this was no common illness. 

Dr. Rosenow sadly shook his head at MacCready. 

“I'm sorry, I don't know what his illness is. I've never seen anything like it.” 

“Is there anything you can do?” The mercenary asked desperately, 

“I can try a few different treatments and can recommend a few other doctors that you can talk to, but there's no guarantee that they'll help. For now, all we can do is pray.” He replied, he then left the room and gestured the others to leave as well. 

MacCready tightened his grip on Duncan’s hand. “Come on, buddy. I need you to be okay.” He whispered to him, “Please get better.” He then felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. 

“...I can't lose you too…” 

Over the next few months, Duncan just got worse and worse. MacCready tried every remedy, talked to every doctor that he could find, nothing worked, and his son was getting weaker to the point where he almost couldn't walk by himself. The mercenary was in great dispair. He was running out of options. Not only was he losing his son...

…He was losing hope… 

But then, one night, while drinking in the local tavern. He was granted one more chance. 

MacCready downed the rest of his third bottle in one go. He sluggishly looked to the bartender and dropped a few caps on the table. 

“Give me another.” He said drunkenly, 

The bartender, a man in his mid thirties, gave him an odd look. “Are you sure? You look like you've had enough.” He pointed out, 

“I honestly don't care anymore...my son is sick and dying and I don't know what else to do...” MacCready groaned, 

The bartender knew why he was so distraught and desperate to drink his pain away. He handed him another bottle and the depressed widowed father proceeded to drink. 

“I'm sorry to hear about your kid.” A voice said, MacCready looked over to see a guy in his early fifties drinking a glass of brandy next to him. The man was clad in an old lab coat. He was clearly an eccentric one. 

He gave the man an odd look. “Thanks.” He said, 

“Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone close to you...I jut lost my best friend recently…” The man replied, 

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.” MacCready apologized, 

The man smiled, “Thank you, young man.” 

“I don't mean to pry, but what was wrong with him?” MacCready asked, 

The weird man sighed before sipping his brandy. “He was sick with some strange disease, he had a really high fever…” He said sadly, 

“Oh...I see…” MacCready nodded, 

“...and he had these blue boils…” The man continued, 

This snapped MacCready out of his drunken haze. 

“Wait, blue boils?” He said now extremely intrigued, 

“Yes, he was very sick,” The man replied, “We luckily managed to find out the location of the cure, but then he...you know…” 

MacCready couldn't believe what he was hearing! This man knew where the cure was! He was his last hope. 

“Really!? That's exactly what my son has! Do you remember where the cure is?” He asked desperately, 

The middle aged man looked off into the distance for a minute as he tried to remember. “In some hospital in Boston. That's the only known location of the cure. A hospital called Med-Tek Research…” 

“Then that's where I need to go!” MacCready said standing up, he shook the man’s hand gratefully. “Thank you so much mister!” 

“Please, son. My name is Sinclair…” The man told him with a smile, MacCready returned the gesture and turned to leave the bar but Sinclair stopped him. 

“Wait! Before you go, you'll need this…” He then reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a worn down piece of paper with some codes on it. He handed it to the mercenary. “The building is under a security alert and these codes will access the terminal that can override them...good luck…” 

“Wait, don't you want these?” MacCready asked him, 

Sinclair waved him off, “No please, you need them now. I don't require them anymore...now go...save your son…” 

MacCready gave him one last nod and ran out of the bar. 

A few days later, MacCready was leaving his house with a full backpack and a determined attitude. He was ready to hit the road. He was about to leave when he decided to say goodbye to someone. 

He entered Duncan’s room where Duncan was laying in bed, more blue boils had popped up on his body and looked extremely painful. It hurt him to see his son like this and it hurt him even more to leave him. But it was for his own good. 

“Hey Duncan…” MacCready said trying to sound happy, 

Duncan gave a loud and painful sounding cough. “Hey dad…” He replied weakly, the mercenary walked over to the bed and knelt down at his bedside and ran a hand through his messy brown hair and sighed. 

“...I have to go, Duncan…” He said, 

“Where are you going?” Duncan asked him, 

“I'm going to help you, buddy. I'm going to find a cure for you. Janet is going to be taking care of you while I’m gone so I want you to be on your best behavior for her. Do you understand me?” 

Duncan weakly nodded, “Yes dad.” 

MacCready smiled at his son. “That's my boy. I'll be home before you know it, and I promise that when I come back, I'll be different, I'll be a better parent.” 

Duncan put his hand over his father’s. “You're a great parent…” 

The mercenary felt tears well up in his eyes again as he put his free hand over his son’s. “That's not good enough. You deserve better than what I am, and I'm willing to give that to ‘ya…” MacCready straightened up and headed for the door. He stopped and got one last look at his son. “...I love ‘ya, Duncan…” 

Duncan smiled tiredly, “I love you too, dad.” 

With a heavy heart, MacCready closed the door to Duncan’s room and headed down the hall and exited the small shack house. He turned to Janet who was waiting outside for him. 

“Take good care of my son, you hear?” He told her, Janet nodded and gave her friend a hug. “Stay safe, RJ...Write to us as soon as you get to Boston.” 

He nodded and turned to leave heading for the front exit of the settlement. The night was growing near as the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon to the West. MacCready walked a short distance in the direction of the northern border of the Wasteland but he stopped and looked back giving the settlement one last look for he was not going to see it for awhile. His chest growing heavy, he looked ahead of him and proceeded to head North.


	21. Chapter 20: "The Long Road Ahead"

**Three Months later**

“Can't say I’m surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready.” A gruff voice said, a man dressed in Military fatigues and a green army helmet and bandana was standing in front of the mercenary who was sitting in front of him sipping on a bourbon. 

“I was wondering how long it would take for your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock. It’s been almost three months. Don't tell me you're getting rusty. Should we take this outside?” MacCready retaliated, he was not at all afraid despite the fact that he was in a bar being threatened by two other mercenaries. 

“It ain't like that, I’m just here to deliver a message…” The man known as Winlock replied, 

“In case you forgot, I left the Gunners for good.” MacCready said standing up, he wasn't afraid to stand up to these assholes. 

“Yeah, I heard. But you're still taking jobs in the Commonwealth...That isn't going to work for us…” Winlock explained, 

“I don't take orders from you!...Not anymore...so why don't ‘ya, take your girlfriend and walk out of here while you still can…” MacCready threatened, 

“What!? Winlock, tell me we don't have to listen to this shit!” The other man in the room known as Barnes cut in, 

“Listen up, MacCready. The only reason we haven't filled your body full of bullets is because we don't want a war with Goodneighbor. See, we respect other people’s boundaries, we know how to play the game. That's something you never learned.” Winlock said insultingly, 

“Glad to have disappointed you.” MacCready said sarcastically, 

This, however, had no effect on Winlock for he just chuckled. “You can play the tough guy all you want. But if we hear you're still operating inside Gunner territory, all bets are off. Got it?” 

“You finished?” MacCready asked getting tired of their bullshit, 

“Yeah, we’re finished. Come on, Barnes…” Winlock told his comrade, the two of them turned and left the room as the young mercenary glared at them as they left the room. Just as the two men were leaving however, a slim figure entered the room. It was a woman about MacCready’s age with porcelain skin and short wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. She donned a blue Vault jumpsuit with the yellow numbers 111 printed on the back. 

She smiled at Winlock and Barnes politely though she was obviously frightened by their gruff appearances. 

“Hi.” She said as she chuckled, 

Winlock glared at her. “Get out of my face.” He said threateningly, the woman backed up a bit now slightly startled. 

Winlock and Barnes then left the V.I.P room and the young woman proceeded to walk in. “Rude.” She said under her breath, she then took notice of the other man in the room who just stared at her as she walked in. The woman walked up to him shyly. 

“Um, hi. Are you MacCready?” She asked him, 

“Yeah I am, but look lady, if you're preaching about the Atom or just looking for a friend, you've got the wrong guy...you need a hired gun, then maybe we can talk…” MacCready replied snarkily, 

A smile instantly pulled at the woman’s lips. “You know, one more gun could make all the difference.” She said, 

“You bet, you won't find another one like me. If need me to watch your back, I'm there,” MacCready explained to her, “So, interested?” 

“I don't know, what about those men back there?” She asked pointing her thumb towards the door. 

“Ah, don't worry about them. They're just a couple of idiots who look tough. They won't hurt you.” The mercenary assured her, the woman still looked unsure. Normally at this point he would By now, he'd normally just show her the door,, but he was running low on caps, he was desperate for a client and despite her appearance, he felt that she would be perfect. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. 

“Tell you what. The normal price is 250 caps, up front, but I like you, I could lower it to 200 if you'll take me.” He offered her, 

The young woman thought it over for a moment until she finally smiled. She pulled about 200 caps out of her pocket and dropped them into his hand. “Alright then, you're hired.” She said, 

“Now you're speaking my language.” MacCready replied, he then shook the woman’s hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Miss…” He trailed off not knowing her name, 

“Nora.” The woman replied, “My name is Nora.” 

“Okay then, Nora.” MacCready nodded, 

The duo headed up north of Goodneighbor until they reached a small town with wrecked up houses from the pre-war era. MacCready had learned that Nora was the only survivor from Vault 111 and had been searching the Commonwealth to find her son, Shaun, who had been taken from her. Her spouse was also killed by her son’s kidnapper known as Kellogg. MacCready felt for her, he really did, he knew the pain of losing the love of your life and the pain of losing your child even though Duncan was still alive. 

He hoped that he would never have to go through that. 

As they reached the entrance to the town, they were stopped by two guards with laser muskets. They were part of The Minutemen. 

“General Nora. Good to have you back, ma’am.” One of them said, Nora gave them a nod and the two headed on inside. There were already a few buildings bein built and a nice crop was planted in the garden behind one of the houses. MacCready was pretty impressed, for a settlement that was starting out, they were doing pretty well for themselves. 

“Okay, so this is Sanctuary Hills. I used to live here back before the war. You should have seen it.” Nora said with a sigh, 

“I'm really sorry.” MacCready apologized, 

“It's okay. I'm getting back on my feet.” Nora replied, she then began to lead him to one of the newly built post-war houses. They passed by one of the yellow houses when he heard a raspy voice whisper to him, 

“I know why you're here…” It said, MacCready was startled for a minute until he looked in the direction of the voice. It came from an old woman who was dressed up like a fortune teller. She was sitting in a fabric green chair and her eyes were hazy. 

MacCready stopped following Nora and sauntered over to the old woman in the chair. “You know why I'm here?” He asked her, 

“Yes, you're here because you're looking for something...something that will save your son…” The woman said, 

MacCready was both amazed and slightly creeped out by this. “Yes, that's exactly why I'm here. How did you know that?” 

“I saw it, kid.” The woman answered, 

“You “saw it”?” The mercenary asked quirking an eyebrow, 

“Chems, kid. They give ol’ Mama Murphy “The Sight”. I can't see what was, what is, and what will be…” Mama Murphy explained, 

“That’s cool.” MacCready said amazed, 

“I know all about you, MacCready...you were a scared boy in the Capitol Wasteland who had nothing, then..you got everything, and then you lost it all. You lost your wife, and now you are worried that you will lose your son…” She told him, 

“Tell me, Mama Murphy. Will I save him?” The mercenary asked her, 

“If you want, I can give you a reading, if you have some Jet on ‘ya…” Mama Murphy replied with a smile, 

MacCready wasted no time and quickly dug through the pocket of his duster and pulled out one hit of Jet that he managed to get off the body of a dead Raider. He handed it to the old woman. 

Mama Murphy took the entire dose in one go. After a minute, she began to get a clear picture. 

“I...I see it...a vision of your future...you...you will find what you are looking for…” She told him, 

“Oh thank god! What else?” MacCready asked urgently, 

“I...I also see a woman...one of such beauty and intelligence...I see her...your true love…” She said with a smirk. 

“What!? My true love!? But that's impossible! Lucy was my one and only, and now she's gone…” MacCready said sadly, 

“No, my dear. There is another. I cannot see her clearly, but I do know that you will someday find her. But for now, she...she is always with you…” Mama Murphy that let out a loud and pained gasp. “Oh wow! That took a lot out of me!” She exaggerated, 

Nora then came running up to them. “What's going on here!?” She said worriedly, she then noticed the inhaler in the old woman’s hand. 

“Mama Murphy...you were doing chems again…” She said sadly, 

MacCready held his hands up in defense. “Nora, I’m sorry, it was me. She offered to show me my future for a hit of Jet.” He explained all the while apologizing at the same time. 

Nora out a hand on his shoulder. “Don't be sorry, you didn’t know that she's an addict. I've been trying to get off the chems for months…” 

“Oh come now, child. He's going to need The Sight...and so are you…” Mama Murphy assured her, 

Nora just gave the old chem addict a desperate look as if she were silently pleading with her, then she proceeded to drag MacCready towards one of the post-war houses. 

“This is the place where the men sleep. You’ll be sleeping here.” She explained, 

The mercenary nodded, “Sounds more comfortable than sleeping on a couch at The Third Rail.” 

Nora giggled and opened the door to the place and led him inside. It was rather spacious with a sofa and a few chairs. A kitchen rested on the left hand side and there was also a staircase. 

She took his hand and led him up the stairs. “You're room is upstairs.” She said, they went up the staircase to the second floor. They walked down the hallway until Nora stopped at one of the doors. 

“This is the only room in the guys’ place that hasn't been taken. This can be your room.” She said, she opened the door to reveal a bedroom about the size of a dorm room with two dressers and beds on each side. 

MacCready stepped into the room and set his backpack down on the floor looking around and nodding in approval. The room was nice, he'd give it that. 

Nora then spoke up again. “I’ll leave you to get settled in. If you need anything, just let me or someone else know.” And with that she closed the door. 

MacCready walked over to his bed and face-planted onto the pillow enjoying the soft feeling of the singular bed. After sleeping in bad conditions ranging from a couch in The Third Rail to the dirty floor of any place that he could afford, this was a huge upgrade. 

For the next few a weeks, MacCready was getting used to living in Sanctuary and was getting acquainted with the Minutemen and other settlers that lived there. He also met some other colorful people whom Nora recruited to help her find Shaun. 

“So, what's your story?” Nora asked the mercenary one day, she was fixing up her suit of T-45 power armor while MacCready was helping Sturges with some repairs on the old yellow house across from Nora’s old place. 

“I don't really like to share that kind of information with people.” He replied after hesitation no a moment. 

The Vault dweller peaked out from behind the large metal suit holding a wrench. “But we've known each other for a while now, and I managed to help you take out those gunner people that were giving you trouble…” 

MacCready didn't reply and just kept on hammering. 

“Please, MacCready?” Nora begged with a smile, 

The mercenary looked at her for a minute before he let out a sigh. “Well, I was about ten when I first picked up a sniper rifle. I'm completely self-taught…” He began, 

“You taught yourself? That takes some skill.” Nora said impressed, 

He chuckled, “Yeah well...I didn't really have much of a choice...if I was going to survive the Capitol Wasteland, then I was going to have to learn to shoot.” 

“The Capitol Wasteland?” Nora said intrigued, 

“That's where I was born. I never knew my parents. I lived underground in a place called “Little Lamplight” for a little while until I turned sixteen. It was only kids. No adults.” 

“Wow, that's amazing. I can't believe little kids could survive all on their own.” Nora said in awe, 

“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy but that's what happened. Would you believe I was actually the mayor for a while? Me? Crazy right?” He asked her, 

“Were you alone…?” Nora asked him, 

“Not entirely. I had friends down there…” 

“What were they like?” Nora asked now extremely intrigued, 

MacCready sighed, “Well, there was my buddy Zip. He was a Nuka Cola addict.” He said laughing a bit, 

“Nuka Cola, huh? Kind of like Sheffield?” Nora said snickering, she then looked over at the old ex alcoholic to see him gulping down a Nuka Cola. 

“Wow…” MacCready said laughing at the weird old man, 

“Who else?” Nora said, 

“Let me see...there was also Chelsea...I think Cait and Piper would get along with her fine…” MacCready answered, 

“Anyone else?” Nora asked, 

“Well...there was one more person…”

Nora looked like she was ready to listen. 

“...Her name was...Juliet...” MacCready told her, 

“Juliet? That's a pretty name. What was she like?” Nora replied, 

“Well, she was...compassionate, smart, sweet, beautiful...she was someone who was always there for you...I could’ve trusted her with anything, she was the only one I could lean on...she was my best friend…” 

Nora smiled as she listened to him talk about this girl, Juliet. From what he was telling her, she seemed like a very nice girl. The Soul Survivor then giggled when she noticed blush forming on the mercenary’s cheeks while he talked about Juliet. She smirked some. He took notice. 

“What?” He asked her awkwardly, 

“Nothing.” Nora said nonchalantly, she then went back to repairing her power armor and MacCready went back to repairing the house. 

“So there you have it. My whole life in a nutshell.” He said, 

“Very interesting.” Nora replied,


	22. Chapter 21: "Caring"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: WARNING: MAJOR character death

Juliet was walking around the perimeter of the settlement with Will. It was a cloudy day and the wind was a little harsh and it seemed to be getting colder. 

Winter was on the way. 

Juliet shivered as she snuggled into her jacket and suddenly felt better when Will put his arm around her. She smiled fondly at him. He just smiled back. He then took her hand, a golden ring rested on her ring finger. They had managed to tie the knot a few months ago and they were so far enjoying being married in wedded bliss. 

“You feeling cold too?” She asked him, Will nodded, “Yeah, but I'm used to it.” He replied, 

“Okay.” She nodded, they continued to walk. They loved going on walks like this. They talked for the most part, but they also were quiet and took the time to take in their surroundings. 

Juliet looked at Will again. He looked like he was really thinking about something. “What are you thinking about?” She asked curiously, 

Will shrugged, I don't know...things…” He replied, “Everything just changed so fast...I mean, taking care of the settlement, us getting married, I don't know...it's all just so much…” 

Juliet wrapped her arms around him in a firm embrace. “Don't be overwhelmed, as long as we're together, we’ll be alright.” She said, it was then that she remembered something. 

“Uh...honey? I forgot to tell you,  
I have to go visit RJ and Duncan for a week. I haven't heard from them in months and I want to make sure they're okay.” She said, 

The captain of the guards gave his wife a suspicious look. It wasn't Duncan he didn't like, he like the kid a lot actually…

...It was the boy’s father that he didn't like…

Ever since MacCready had returned a few years ago and Will discovered that Juliet had a crush on him when they were kids, Will was always kind of...jealous of MacCready. He knew Juliet was with him, and she told him that it was a long time ago and she no longer had feelings for him, but he was still very cautious to not lose his girl. 

But it wasn't just jealousy that kept Will from liking the mercenary, he hated him long before he even met Juliet. When they were younger, Will wasn't too crazy with the idea of being bossed around by someone younger than him. As an older kid in “Little Lamplight”,he believed that the older kids should have authority, not the younger kids. Plus, he always saw MacCready as kind of a brat. When he saw him again years later, he didn't expect him to be so mature. But MacCready’s attitude change didn't change his opinion of him. 

“Are you sure, babe?” He asked her unsure, 

“Yes I need to see them. I’m sure Duncan’s been missing me…” She then noticed her husband’s look of sorrow. She put her hand on his cheek. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it…” She then kissed him on the lips and he kissed her back. 

It was a long walk, but Juliet didn't mind, seeing them made the long trip worth it. She even had a little surprise for Duncan. A new teddy bear. It looked slightly different than the other teddy bears that were seen around the Wasteland. This one had darker brown fur and was a little more worn down. Since it was only MacCready bringing in the caps and they needed most of his earnings to afford necessities, Duncan didn't have too much nice stuff. After about a day and a half, she finally made it to the settlement. When she entered the town she looked around. Everything still looked the same. 

Her eyes then fell upon one person. Janet. 

She ran over to her. “Hey there, Janet!” She said happily, she ran over to the other blonde woman and gave her a hug. 

“Juliet, what are you doing here?” Janet asked her surprised, 

“I'm here to see RJ and Duncan. Have you seen them?” She asked her, 

Janet’s smile faded. Juliet’s face turned worried. 

“What is it?” Juliet asked her, 

“Duncan’s sick…” Janet said, 

“He's sick? With what?” Juliet asked her urgently, 

Janet shook her head. “We don't know what it is...the doctors have never seen anything like it…” 

“Is he going to be okay?” Juliet asked worriedly, 

“We don't know…” Janet replied, 

“...Can I see him?” Juliet asked almost beggingly, 

Janet hesitated but finally nodded, she led the mayor over to the shack house and they entered and headed down the hall to Duncan’s room. Once they reached his door, she turned to her. 

“Before we go in, I must warn you. Seeing him might shock you. He's so sick and I'm worried that you may not like what you see…” She warned her, 

Juliet waved her off, “I don't care. I'll always love Duncan no matter what he looks like. I want to see him.” 

“Okay, but you must also be very quiet…” Janet told her, she then turned and opened the door a slight crack and whispered in. 

“Duncan, you have a visitor.” She said softly, she then opened the door wider and Juliet’s heart dropped at the sight of Duncan. 

The kids looked like he was on his deathbed. There were more blue boils, his eyes looked tired and had dark bags under them. His breathing was harsh and shaky. 

Juliet was more hurt than startled. She felt her heart shatter to complete pieces at the sight of him being so sick. But she knew that he wouldn't want her to be sad, so she pulled on a smile. 

He coughed really loudly and painfully and when the coughing fit died down, his weak eyes noticed the dirty blonde’s presence. He used most of the strength that he had to smile. 

“...Auntie Juliet…” He said weakly, Juliet slowly walked over to his bed and sat at his bedside. 

Janet then spoke up. “I'll just leave you two alone for a moment…” She then closed the door. 

“Hey buddy. What's going on here? I hear you're not feeling well.” She said trying to sound comforting, 

“Yeah. I was bit by something and now I don't feel good.” He told her, 

“Well, I just want you to know that I'm staying here for a week. I'll take care of you.” Juliet told him, 

“Duncan then took her hand in his. He smiled. “Thanks Aunt Juliet.” 

Juliet then remembered the gift she brought for him. “Oh Duncan, I almost forgot. I got something for you.” Duncan perked up and suddenly found the strength to sit up. He sat up eagerly. Juliet reached into her bag and pulled out the teddy bear. 

“This was going to be a surprise anyway, but I think given your current condition, I think it works better as a “get well” gift.” She showed the bear to him. 

Duncan’s tired eyes widened and he really smiled for the first time since he got sick. Juliet handed him the bear and he almost snatched it from her hands and began to stroke it as if it were a child. 

“Whoa! A bear!” He said, he was obviously ecstatic with the gift. 

“There, now you have someone to keep you company, and whenever I'm not around and you miss me, just squeeze the bear tightly, and I'll be here with you.” She told him, 

Duncan wasted no time and hugged the bear with all the strength that he had. He looked at the mayor gratefully. “Thank you, Aunt Juliet.” He said sweetly, Juliet felt her heart warm. She just loved it when his eyes lit up. Whenever they would light up if he got excited or something, she always saw MacCready looking right back at her. 

He reminded her of his father so much. 

Duncan then set the teddy bear aside and hugged the blonde woman. Juliet felt herself begin to cry as she hugged the little boy back being careful of his boils. She knew that this probably wasn't a good idea but she didn't care. She loved him so much. She then broke off from the hug and started to pulled the covers over him as he laid back down now snuggling his new bear. 

“You should rest now.” Juliet told him, 

“Awww! But you just got here.” The four year old whined, 

“You need your rest, sweetie. We'll talk more later, okay?” She spoke to him softly, 

The mercenary's son pouted. “Okay.” He replied, 

Juliet giggled at his reaction, he also inherited his father’s poutiness. She stood up from the bed and turned to leave the room. She stopped and looked back at the sick boy and she felt her heart and her mind both tell her something. She then left the room and closed the door behind her. She exited the shack house where Janet was leaning against the outside. 

“How did it go?” Janet asked her, 

“It went good. He was really happy when I gave him the bear...” Juliet told her chuckling a little bit, then after a moment of silence, she asked, “Where’s RJ?” 

“He left a few months ago. He said he found out the location of the cure to Duncan’s illness.” The innkeeper explained, 

“Really? Where?” The dirty blonde asked the lighter blonde, 

“He said somewhere in Massachusetts. But there's no telling when he'll be back…” 

Juliet then thought it over. Then she asked the nice lady another question. “Janet? Can you do something for me?” 

“Of course what is it?” Janet replied, 

“...I need you to write to my settlement…tell them that I'm not returning until either RJ returns, or Duncan is better…” 

The letter was written and sent to “Lights of D.C” the very next day. Janet had also managed to write to MacCready telling him that Duncan was no longer alone because he had Juliet watching over him. The mercenary replied saying he was grateful for Juliet’s kindness and her eagerness to help. Janet gave Juliet the address he would put it his letters so that she could write him too. 

Juliet stayed by Duncan’s side day and night. They talked, they joked, they wrote letters to MacCready, and spent almost all hours of the day together. Juliet spoon fed him his meals and stayed with him until he’d fall asleep at night and then go crash either on the couch or in MacCready’s room because MacCready himself told her he didn't mind. Juliet told Duncan about all of the amazing places in the Capitol Wasteland that she had traveled to while Duncan told her about life at the settlement, how his father was going to find the cure for him and he would get better, he even mentioned his father’s promise to become a better father. Having Juliet their ecertainly made Duncan’s illness a lot more bearable. 

However, as the weeks went by, Duncan only got worse. Soon enough he was sleeping the entire day, he was eating a lot less, and he wasn't as high spirited as he was when Juliet first came. The blonde swordfighter began to worry. She wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last. She began to cry at night before she fell asleep. She didn't want to lose him, if something were to happen to Duncan, she wouldn't know what to do with herself, and MacCready...he'd be absolutely heartbroken. He's never be the same again. Eventually the letters also stopped. Juliet could feel the world crashing around her. 

Until one night, a glimmer of hope came. 

A caravan entered the town which confused her. It didn't look like a caravan she had seen around the settlement before. The trader began asking around until he finally approached Juliet. He was dressed in Road Leathers and leather armor pieces. He had red hair and a scruffy beard, the smell of vodka on his breath. 

“Hey, do know a Juliet Weathers?” He asked her, 

Juliet was uncomfortable by this man’s presence but smiled trying to be polite. “You’re looking at her.” 

“Ah, well then. This is for you from “Goodneighbor”.” He then handed her a small cardboard box sealed tight. 

Juliet looked down at the box oddly and back up at the man. 

“What is it?” She asked him, 

The Trader shrugged, “I don't know, all we were told was that it was valuable.” He then bid her goodnight and headed off towards the tavern with his guards. Juliet went into the house and sat down on the old couch as she had a bit of difficulty opening the box. When she finally got it open, she lifted the lid to reveal a small red needle and nothing else. 

Confused, Juliet picked up the needle and turned it over in her fingers. She then squinted to read the faded white letters printed on the side. 

“Med-Tek Prevent”

She left the house and headed over to the doctors place where Dr. Rosenow was working on something underneath the hanging lantern. 

“Dr. Rosenow.” Juliet spoke up, the middle-aged doctor turned to her. “What is it?” He asked her, 

She showed him the needle. “I got this needle in the mail. I was wondering if you knew what it is…” Dr. Rosenow put on his glasses and took the needle from her and began to look it over carefully. He looked up at her. 

“Where did it come from?” He asked her, 

“Some town called “Goodneighbor”.” Juliet answered, 

““Goodneighbor”, huh? That's in Massachusetts.” He replied, that was when it hit Juliet. She now knew what that needle was. 

‘...He did it…’ She thought, 

“...It couldn't be the cure that RJ was searching for, could it?” She asked him, Dr. Rosenow thought it over for a minute. 

“It most likely could be,” He replied, “Only one way to find out…” 

Duncan was laying in bed in complete and utter agony. He groaned as he laid there. He was a lot worse than he was before. 

Juliet, along with Janet Dr. Rosenow were the only ones in the room. Dr. Rosenow prepped the needle for injection. He looked to Duncan. 

“Okay Duncan, you ready?” He asked him, 

Duncan nodded, despite his condition, he was scared of being injected with the needle. A common childhood fear. Dr. Rosenow pushed he air out of the needle and flicked the drop off the tip. Juliet took Duncan’s hand and squeezed it tight. 

“Okay, Duncan. Hold really still…” He told him, Duncan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while he felt the needle being injected into his arm. After the medicine was injected, Dr. Rosenow and Janet made their leave but Juliet stayed by Duncan's side. Eventually the boy fell asleep and the dirty blonde retired to the the living room where she collapsed on the couch. 

The next day, Juliet was still fast asleep. Until a voice woke her up. 

“Juliet?” The voice called out, a Juliet woke up feeling groggy and tired. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. The voice called her again. 

“Aunt Juliet?” The voice called again, it was muffled. She recognized the voice as Duncan’s. She got up from the couch and stumbled sleepily down the hall to his room, she opened the door and her sleepy eyes instantly widened. 

Duncan was now sitting up straight in bed and he was smiling. A majority of the blue boils were gone and he looked well rested. 

“I’m hungry.” He told her, 

She just stared at him while he looked at her confused. “What?” He shrugged, 

“Duncan, most of your boils are gone!” Juliet exclaimed, the four year old looked down and saw that she was right. His eyes widened as well. 

“What!? What's going on?” He asked her, Juliet ran over to his bedside and put her hand to his forehead. 

“Your fever’s broken too!” She said, 

“Wait! So does this mean I'm all better!?” Duncan said happily, 

“Well, you still have a few boils left. You may have to stay in bed for a little while longer. But you seem to be getting better...” Juliet told him, she stood up. “Now, how about I make you something to eat. You must be famished.” 

Duncan nodded, “Yes please.” He said eagerly, Juliet giggled and left the room to go make him some food. She went and bought some iguana bits and some veggies and got to work making a bowl of Iguana Soup for him. When it was done, she reentered the room with a bowl full of the soup and reentered the room. 

“Okay Duncan. I got food for ‘ya.” She said, 

Duncan looked eager to eat. She sat down at his bedside. “I made you some Iguana Soup.” 

“Ack! I hate Iguana Soup!” Duncan whined, 

“Come on, Duncan. It's good for you, it’s gonna help you feel better.” Juliet pleaded, 

“No! I don't want to eat it.” Duncan said sternly folding his arms across his chest, 

Juliet chuckled. “You know something, Duncan? You remind me so much of your father when we were young…” 

This got Duncan’s attention. “Really?” He said surprised, 

Juliet nodded, “Yep, when we were twelve, your father got really sick with the flu and I had to help take care of him. I made him this soup too and like you, he refused to eat it.” 

“What did you do?” The four year old asked curiously, 

“I told him that either eat ate it or I would dump it on his head...he ate without any further arguments.” She finished as she giggled, 

Duncan laughed too and then took the bowl of soup from her and began to eat it actually kind of liking the taste. “Wow, you and my dad must've been through a lot together.” He said, 

“Oh yeah, we went through a lot.” Juliet giggled, “Hey, have I ever told you the story of when you were born?” She asked him, 

Duncan shook his head. “No, tell it!” He said excited, 

The mayor smiled as she looked back on that memory. “Okay then...hmm let's see...it was August, it was morning I believe...Your father, mother, and I were taking a walk when we found out that…” She hesitated. She wasn't sure that Duncan was ready for the explanation of childbirth. She knew he was smart enough to understand, but she figured that he wasn't emotionally ready to know yet. 

“Uh...we found out that it was time for you to be born…” She finished, 

“What happened next?” Duncan asked, 

“Well, we were far from the settlement, your mother was having you, and your father was freaking out. We didn't know what to do. Eventually we found a farmhouse and the family was nice enough to let you be born there.” 

“Then what?” Duncan asked, 

“Then...you were born. Your father brought you out into the hall where we were waiting and he looked proud. I was the first one to hold you…It was...probably one of the best moments of my life…” Juliet smiled, 

Duncan set the bowl on his nightstand and crawled up to her and wrapped his arms around her. 

“I love you, Juliet…” Duncan told her, 

Juliet felt her heart melt and 

“And I love you too, little dude…” Juliet replied, 

About another week or two passed as Duncan’s boils started to disappear faster and faster. He was getting his appetite back and his friends came to visit him. Miriam brought him a container of vegetable soup that her mother made while Milo and Evan just congratulated on him for not dying. 

Eventually, Duncan was able to fully walk on his own again. Juliet realized that it was time for her to head back to “Lights of D.C”. She felt terrible leaving Duncan alone, she knew that this was probably going to break his heart, but she had to go. She had to go back and take charge again. 

She sadly watched him stand on his bed playing with the bear that she had given him. She had to tell him. 

“Hey buddy, what’cha doing?” She asked him playfully, Duncan looked up replied smiling, “Playing with Seymour.” He replied, Seymour was what he named the bear. 

“Oh, okay, uh...listen baby, I gotta tell you something…” She sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. He sat down. 

“Honey, we need to talk about something. She said, 

“Okay. What do we need to talk about?” He asked her, 

“...Sweetie...I have to go back to “Lights of D.C”. You're all better now and I've been gone for too long. I'm sorry.” 

Duncan’s smile faded, “But, I like having you here.” He said, 

“And I like being here. But I have responsibilities to take care of. Do you know what responsibility means, Duncan?” She asked him, 

Duncan thought it over for a minute, but then shook his head. 

“Responsibility means having something that you need to take care of, a duty. It's my duty to lead my people and avoiding it is not good. I have to go back, do you understand?” She said, 

Duncan hesitated for a moment but then sadly nodded. 

“Okay…” Juliet kissed his forehead, “You'll be fine on your own, right?” 

Duncan smiled weakly, “Yeah, I guess. But I'm still gonna miss you, Aunt Juliet…” 

“I'll miss you too, kiddo.” Juliet replied giving him a hug, “But remember, I'll be back again, and you have Seymour. Remember what I told you, huh him and I'll be right here with you.” 

Duncan gleamed at her showing his teeth with the exception of two front teeth. Then another thought came to the young boy’s mind. 

“Juliet...can I tell you something? It's kinda silly.” He told her, 

“Of course, honey. Anything.” Juliet replied, 

“This is gonna sound kind of crazy...but I've always seen you as kind of like my mom…” 

Juliet blinked once in surprise, she didn't expect that. “What makes you think that way?” She asked, 

“Well, my real mother wasn't around very long, I was so young that I don't even remember her. All I have left of her are pictures and the stories that you and Dad tell me...you have been there for me and cared for me...like my mother…” 

Juliet felt tears form in her eyes and her heart melted in her chest. She hugged the boy again and they stayed like that for half a minute until she pulled away. She got up from the bed and turned to leave when Duncan asked something else. 

“Juliet...do you love my dad?” He asked her, 

The blonde turned to him blushing and smiling as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well...yeah, of course, he's my best friend…” 

“No, I mean...do you love him the way mom loved him?” He asked, 

The mayor suddenly felt her cheeks turn red and her face heat up. She cleared her throat. “Uh...well...I-I-Uh...I...I-I guess so…” 

Duncan smiled wide, “So you love my dad?” 

Juliet smiled at the four year old sheepishly, “Uh...yeah?” 

Duncan then smirked, “Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me.” 

“Thanks buddy.” She thanked him, 

The next day, Juliet made way for home, Duncan was sad to see her go, but he understood why. Besides, they would see each other again. He tried to take his mind off of it by practicing shooting using the sniper rifle that his father used when he was young. He also read a lot and played with his friends and Seymour. Janet was also very kind to him. The innkeeper would prepare him food from the inn’s cafe, on the house of course. 

He was also very happy that his dad was going to come back home soon. He was really excited to see him again. Everything seemed to be going great for the four year old. 

However, it didn't last. 

A messenger arrived at the house one day while Janet was watching him and handed her a letter. Janet opened it and read it over and her eyes widened. She headed down the hall to Duncan’s room where he was reading a book to Seymour when he looked up and noticed the light blonde. 

“Hey Janet!” He said happily, Hanet didn't say anything, she just sadly looked back at him. 

His smile faded. “...What?” 

It was almost nightfall when Nora and MacCready made it back to Sanctuary. 

“Wow, who knew that running away getting shot at by Raiders was a great way to clear up the sinuses!” The mercenary joked to his friend, 

Nora giggled. “Yeah, those guys really put up a fight.” 

“Hey, at least we made it out alive.” MacCready told her, 

“I'm actually surprised that we made it out alive.” Nora replied, 

“I’m still surprised that we got Duncan that cure. Have you gotten any word from Daisy yet?” He asked her, 

“Yep, she said the cure made it there safely and Duncan’s fine.” 

“Thank god, I was really scared that I was going to lose him,” MacCready said relieved, “At least now I know everything’s going to be okay. No more deaths.” 

Just then, as if by sheer coincidence, a caravan wandered its way into sanctuary. The small group of people walked into the place and noticed the duo talking and went over to them. The leader tapped the mercenary on the shoulder. He turned to face them. 

“Excuse me, we’re looking for Robert Joseph MacCready.” The Trader said, 

“That's me, what's up?” He asked him, 

“I have a message for you from the Capitol Wasteland.” 

“Is it serious?” Nora asked urgently, 

The man sighed, “Lights of D.C” was attacked by a gang of Raiders on Tuesday morning. They suffered a large number of casualties…” He explained, 

MacCready suddenly looked worried. “What about my friend's? Juliet?” He asked the man, 

The Trader shook his head sadly. “I'm sorry...she's dead…”


	23. Chapter 23: "Undercover"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Hey there again guys! This chapter we're going to shift the focus back to Chelsea again. Things are about to get interesting with her. What will happen? Find out now!

“Dez, you wanted to see me?” Chelsea asked as she entered the new Railroad base, after the “incident” at the Switchboard, the secret organization had moved to the crypt of Old North Church just outside of “Goodneighbor”. At first, Chelsea was rather uncomfortable working in a place where they kept dead bodies, but she quickly got used to it. 

“Yes, I need you for a very important mission.” The ginger told her, 

The raven-haired girl nodded, “Of course. What do you need me to do?” She asked, whatever the task was, she was ready to work. 

“Ever since the “Brotherhood of Steel” arrived here in “The Prydwen”, we have been concerned of their motives and what they are planning to do...that's where you come in…” 

Chelsea was listening. 

“...We need you to infiltrate “The Prydwen” as an undercover spy…” 

The Railroad Agent was taken aback by this request. She didn't expect that would be the reason that Desdemona called her down there. 

“Wait, what?” She said confused, 

“Allow me to explain,” Desdemona replied, “You will go in as a Brotherhood Scribe in training and get as much information that you can from the Proctor’s terminal. First you gain their trust and once you have done that, access the terminal, load all of the information onto a holotape, and send it back to headquarters…” 

“I don't know, Dez...Can't Deacon do it? He's so much better at the whole: “undercover impersonation” thing than I am.” Chelsea asked her, 

“Normally I would send Deacon but our organization is going through alot right now. We're in a very vulnerable state and we need him here on the ground…” 

“But...it seems risky...if I get caught, they could execute me.” Chelsea said, 

The ginger put her hand on the raven-haired girl’s shoulder. “Chelsea, you are one of the most skilled agents I know...If I didn't think you could handle this mission, I wouldn't send you. I have no doubt in my mind that you can do this…” 

Chelsea stared at her for a moment but then reluctantly nodded. “Okay.” She agreed, the leader of “The Railroad” smiled at her best agent proudly. 

Chelsea got the weapons and the Scribe outfit from Tinker Tom, the hacking technology from Doctor Carrington who thought she was not fit for this mission but everyone just ignored him like always, and the info on “The Prydwen” from P.A.M. She was finally ready to go. She said goodbye to her fellow agents as they wished her luck with her mission. 

Desdemona handed Chelsea a set of dog tags. “Here, we gave you a new name so The Brotherhood won't know who you are…” she told her, Chelsea took the fake dog tags and looked at them closely to see her new name. 

“Robyn Moore…” She read out loud, she then looked up at everybody else. “Thanks guys, I won't let you down…” 

Carrington narrowed his eyes at her. “Good. See to it that you don't…” He said, 

Everyone glared at him. “Don't listen to him, Chels...We know you'll do great…” Deacon said reassuringly, 

The raven-haired girl smiled at the man of disguises. “Thanks Deacon, that means alot coming from you…” Then, without another word, she left the catacombs. 

“So, you're The Brotherhood’s new recruit, eh?” Lancer Captain Kells asked, Chelsea managed to find the Boston Airport and told them that she was a simple wastelander looking to enlist in “The Brotherhood of Steel”. The lie seemed to work for a female Knight then escorted her up to “The Prydwen” via Vertibird where they were instantly greeted by Captain Kells. 

“Yes sir, I believe that the Brotherhood has good intentions, and I want to help the cause.” Chelsea nodded, all of this was of course lies, she didn't want to help their cause, she wanted to destroy it. 

“Oh, well then. You'll fit right in I suppose.” Captain Kells told her, Chelsea smiled proud. “Of course, you need to speak to Elder Maxson before anything is certain.” 

Chelsea nodded in understanding. “Thank you, Captain.” The Knight then led her up the metal stairs into the airship. Once inside, they walked forward to the command deck where Elder Maxson was looking out at the entirety of Boston. 

They walked up to him and the Knight spoke up. “Excuse me, Elder Maxson.” She said, 

Maxson turned to face them. He looked at the Knight and then at Chelsea. Chelsea was suddenly a little terrified. She assumed that this was the man that wanted her dead some time back. 

“What is it, Knight Holly?” He asked her, 

Knight Holly gestured to the raven-haired woman beside her. “This young woman says that she is interested in joining “The Brotherhood of Steel”.” She explained, 

Maxson sized Chelsea up and down. 

“So Miss…” He trailed off not knowing her name, 

“Moore, Robyn Moore…” Chelsea told him, 

He nodded, “Right. Miss Moore, what position are you hoping to take?” He asked her, 

“Scribe.” Chelsea answered, 

“Oh, so it seems that you had this all planned out.” Maxson said impressed, “Well, the man in charge of the scribes is Proctor Quinlan...You'll have to take it up with him. As far as I'm concerned, you're in. Welcome aboard, Miss Moore.” He then crossed his fist over his heart. “Ad Victoriam.” He said, 

Chelsea was confused by this gesture. She had no idea what he just said, but she needed to blend in. She crossed her fist over her heart as well and repeated him. “Ad Victoriam.” She said, 

Maxson just smiled at her with pride. Knight Holly then led her out of the command deck and up the ladder where the living and eating areas along with the weaponry and medical bay were. Chelsea and Holly entered what looked like a study where an eccentric looking man in glasses was looking over documents. The small study had a bed and a few bookcases filled with files. Chelsea didn't pay attention to any of it however. The only thing that had her attention was the terminal on the opposite side of the room from her. 

‘There it is...if I can just gain access to that terminal. Then I will be able to access a lot of The Brotherhood’s secrets. It'll blow this whole thing wide open…’ She thought to herself, 

The man in the glasses then noticed the two young ladies. 

“Oh, Knight Holly. What may I help you with?” He asked her, 

Holly gestured to Chelsea like she did with Maxson. “Proctor Quinlan, say hello to your newest Scribe.” She smiled, Chelsea just gave a polite smile and wave. 

“Hi, I'm Robyn Moore. It's a pleasure to meet you sir.” 

Proctor Quinlan instantly smiled. “Oh! A new scribe! Of course, of course! Welcome aboard, my dear.” He said kindly, he shook her hand, “I'm Proctor Quinlan, I’m in charge of the scribes and the technology around here. So lovely to meet you. So, you're interested in being a Scribe, eh?” 

Chelsea nodded, “Yes sir.” 

“Well then, you've come to the right place. Let's talk about your skills…” He told her, 

Chelsea told the same story that she told Knight Holly and Elder Maxson. The Proctor was rather impressed with her list of skills and talents. 

“So, am I a Scribe?” Chelsea asked hopefully, if she didn't get the position, then the whole operation was done for. 

“Well, to be perfectly honest, my dear...I expect that someone as highly skilled and combative as you would much rather be a soldier or even a knight than a Scribe.” He said slightly surprised, “Scribes are not much for fighting, but you sound like a capable fighter.” 

“Thank you. But with all do respect, Proctor...I feel I’d be a whole lot happier as a Scribe.” Chelsea insisted, she needed to get to that terminal no matter the risks and lies it would take. 

“Very well then. Normally I would put you in training before sending you out there, but lately we've been in desperate need of members on the ground close to the action. So here's what I'm going to do. Instead of being a regular Scribe, I make you a Field Scribe. I will assign you to a designation on the ground where you can train under one of the other Field Scribes. What do you say?” Proctor Quinlan asked her, 

The raven-haired woman wasn't really paying too much attention to him. She was looking past the eccentric Proctor at his terminal again.

Proctor Quinlan noticed her loss of focus. “You okay, Miss?” He asked her, 

Chelsea instantly snapped back into focus and smiled. “Oh yeah, it's just that it's a lot to take in. I didn't think I'd be upgraded to a Field Scribe so quickly.” She lied, 

Proctor Quinlan just chuckled, “I can understand why. It's not quite what you were expecting. But I know that you’ll do great. I can see that you're made for this job.” 

“Will you ever need me up here? I want to help in every way I can.” Chelsea asked, she was concerned about being assigned to not work on “The Prydwen”. That would make her mission of getting to the terminal a lot harder. 

“Don't worry, there will be times when I'll need you up here. I'll let you know when. Your enthusiasm to help The Brotherhood is awe inspiring.” 

The Railroad Agent just laughed nervously, “Yeah…“help”...” 

The man of knowledge began to search through a filing cabinet and finally pulled out a bulky folder. He brought it over to the desk by his bed and set it down opening it and looking through the papers inside it. “Aha! Here we go!” He then looked up at Chelsea smiling. “You can go with the recon team at the Cambridge Police Station. Effective immediately.” 

Chelsea smiled weakly, “Great...can't wait…” She said nervously, 

Chelsea fidgeted in her lone booth staring into the bowl of squirrel stew that she ordered. She was in Diamond City, at this new restaurant/bar called “The Extra Inning”. 

Diamond City Maintenance managed to tear down Earl Sterling’s old house since it was now abandoned and the warehouse next to it that nobody touched and used the land around it to create a nice spacious eatery. It no doubt had better food than the Dugout inn, but it wasn't quite as nice as that restaurant in the Upper Stands. It was simply a decent bar that the lower residents of Diamond City could afford to go to so they wouldn't be making themselves sick by eating at The Dugout or having to cook at home all the time or engorging themselves with power noodles. 

The bar was quite crowded tonight, but Chelsea’s nervousness managed to block out all of the other people’s chatting and the blasting of the radio through giant speakers that the owner managed to install. 

“Is there anything else I can get for you?” A waitress asked, she had long dark blonde hair done up in a ponytail and deep blue eyes. 

The black-haired tomboy just looked up at the lovely waitress and smiled. “No thanks. I'm good.” 

“Are you okay? You don't look so good...” The woman asked her, 

Chelsea sighed. “Yeah.” 

“...Do you wanna talk about it?” 

“...No…” 

The waitress then patted her shoulder. “Tell you what, I'll go check and see if we have any Tarberry pie leftover…maybe that'll cheer you up...” 

Chelsea smiled, “Thanks.” The woman smiled and headed for the back kitchen. After she disappeared behind the old metal doors, her smile faded. The Railroad Agent groaned covering her face with her hands. 

“I'm a dead woman…”

The next day, Chelsea was transferred from “The Prydwen” to the Cambridge Police Station. The vertibird landed on the roof of the station and she hopped off along with another Brotherhood soldier. 

The soldier looked at her. “Here we are. The Cambridge Police Station.” He then took her arm. “Come, I'll introduce you to everyone…” 

They went through the door and down the stairs into the old police station. The jail cells were of course empty with the exception of a few skeletons lying on the dirty floor. Chelsea, like in the crypt, felt a little uncomfortable of her surroundings but tried to not show it. 

They entered the main lobby where other soldiers and Scribes were going about doing their own thing. They walked into the middle of the room and the soldier cleared his throat. 

“May I have everyone’s attention?” He said to everyone, all of the other people in the room stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to them. 

The soldier gestured to her. “I want you to meet our newest Field Scribe. Robyn Moore.” He said, everyone either smiled or just stared at her stone faced. 

Chelsea just smiled weakly and waved. The soldier then led her over to one of the other Field Scribes. She looked nice. She was young and beautiful. She was looking at something on her clipboard. 

“Scribe Haylen, meet your new trainee.” The soldier spoke up, the Scribe looked up to see the two of them and instantly smiled. 

“Hi! Nice to meet you. You're Robyn, right?” She asked shaking Chelsea’s hand, 

“Uh yeah. That’s my name. Robyn.” She lied, 

“Hi Robyn, I'm Haylen. I'm happy to be working with you.” Haylen replied, 

Chelsea smiled at the Scribe. “Me too.”

Over the course of a few weeks, Chelsea stayed in the police station with the other Brotherhood soldiers. She started learning about the different technologies in the Commonwealth. It was all rather confusing at first, but it didn't take long for the Railroad Agent to catch on. Scribe Haylen was so kind to her and helped her to learn her way around things. Whenever Chelsea got stumped, Haylen would explain it to her. Eventually she got better at fixing things and healing injuries as well. She was becoming one hell of a Scribe. 

One day, Chelsea came down from working on the roof for her break. She was currently assisting the other Scribes in repairing one of the vertibirds. 

She walked over to Haylen who was inspecting a rare looking gun. 

“Hey Haylen.” She spoke up, 

Haylen looked up from her work and smiled at her. “Hey Robyn. You on break?” She asked her 

Chelsea nodded, “Yeah, I am actually. Care to join me?” 

“Sure.” Haylen nodded back, 

Then Knight Rhys walked up to them. 

“Hey Haylen I needed you to check on the-.” He stopped when he saw Chelsea. “Oh, it's you.” He said,

“Yep. It's me.” Chelsea replied smiling, 

“You may think you're tough, but don't think for a minute that I'm glad that you're here. I can't wait for the day that you decide to go back to wandering the Wasteland alone.” He said harshly, 

“Wow, you sure know how to charm a girl.” Chelsea said sarcastically, 

Rhys just humphed and went back to work. 

Chelsea sighed, “Why does he hate me?” She asked Haylen, 

Haylen just smiled. “Rhys doesn't hate you. He's like that to everyone, even me. Rhys bleeds Brotherhood. It's his life. Whenever something else comes into the picture, he pushes it aside.” 

It was then that the Railroad spy noticed blush forming on the Scribe’s cheeks. 

She smirked, “Haylen? Is there something between you two?” She asked slyly, 

Haylen’s blush deepened and her eyes went wide. “N-No! I…I don't wanna talk about it…” She bashfully rubbed her arm. 

“Come on, you can tell me. It’ll just be between we girls.” Chelsea encouraged her, 

Haylen sighed. “Well, when I first joined The Brotherhood, Rhys was the one who sponsored me, showed me the ropes. I started to think that there was more between us. But when I asked him if he felt the same way, he said that all he cared about was The Brotherhood and nothing else. We never brought it up again after that…” 

The Scribe now looked really embarrassed and a little heartbroken. It made Chelsea feel bad for her. The new Scribe put her hand on the older Scribe’s shoulder. “Hey, it's his loss. He's really missing out on a really good friend.” 

Haylen smiled at her. “Thanks, Robyn.” She said, 

Chelsea winked at her. “Anytime.” 

Suddenly a Knight without Power Armor came running into the place. 

“He's back! He's back! Paladin Danse is back!” He yelled, suddenly the whole station was in a frenzy. 

Chelsea tapped Haylen’s shoulder. “Who's back?” She asked her,

The Scribe smiled at the new one. “My friend, Danse.” She replied, 

“Who's Danse?” Chelsea shrugged,

“...The Paladin…” 

Time seemed to slow down for Chelsea as Paladin Danse entered the police station. His power armor clanked loudly against the floor as he walked in. He looked around at everyone. 

“Ad Victoriam.” He said, 

Chelsea felt her heart stop and her blood go cold. It was him. The Knight that almost killed her by Bunker Hill some time back. He was Paladin now? She was stunned. 

‘I hope he doesn't recognize me…’ She thought to herself, she then headed back to her duties on the roof. 

Danse looked over at Scribe Haylen. “Haylen. Good to see you.” He said to her, 

The Scribe nodded. “Good to see you too, Danse.” 

“What's our status here?” He asked, 

“The beacon is doing so much better now thanks to you and that new Knight that you're sponsoring...Where is she anyway?” Haylen asked him, 

“Nora will be here in a while. She had some prior engagements.” Danse answered, “What's new here?” 

“We got a new recruit here with us now.” Haylen said proudly, 

The Paladin blinked once in surprise. “We do?” 

“Yes, a new Field Scribe. She's training under my sponsorship.” Haylen explained, 

He smiled at the Field Scribe. “Excellent. We could always use more people joining our ranks. Who is she?” 

“Her name is Robyn Moore. She said she's interested in assisting The Brotherhood in our mission to save The Commonwealth.” Haylen gleamed, “At first it was a little hard for her but she's been catching on fast.” 

“Oh, is that so? Where is she now? She sounds very noble. I'd like to meet her.” Danse asked, 

Haylen looked around the police station wondering where the raven-haired woman had run off to. Then she remembered what she was working on before Danse showed up. 

“I think you'll find her on the roof. She's working on a vertibird up there.” She replied, 

Danse gave her a nod. “Thanks.” He headed up the stairs and through the door to the roof. He looked around and then at the vertibird where there were three Scribes working on it. He noticed that out of the three of them, only one of them was a woman. 

He headed over to the vertibird where the young woman was working on it. 

“Excuse me.” He spoke up, 

Chelsea stopped what she was doing and straightened up and turned to face the Paladin only for her eyes to widen. 

As did Danse’s. He recognized her face. Suddenly he grabbed her wrist and tugged her off to an area where no one could hear them. 

“...You…You're that girl from all those months ago! “Shadow”! What are you doing here!?” He yelled in a hushed whisper, 

Chelsea was beyond terrified at this point. He was the only one that knew of her secret identity. He could expose her to everyone and have her killed. She needed to get on his good side. She tried to calm herself and gather her composure. 

“Dude, chill out, let me explain.” She said trying to calm him down, 

“No! There's nothing to explain! You are an enemy of The Brotherhood! Your organization’s beliefs and practices not only completely go against what we stand for, but also mocks us as well! As a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, it is my duty to take you down.” He said furiously, 

Chelsea sighed. “...I left “The Railroad”...” She said, 

Danse’s hard look softened when he heard that. “...What?” 

“...I...left “The Railroad”.” Chelsea repeated, 

Danse was taken aback by this. But then his strict look returned. “What do you mean you left? Explain yourself, Railroad Agent.” He said with venom in those last two words, 

“I have realized that what they were fighting for was wrong. Synths are the enemy. They don't deserve free will and thinking and they are robotic abominations that need to be disposed of before people get hurt.” She explained, these were lies. This wasn't how really she felt about synths at all. She still loved them, and calling them abominations made her feel sick to her stomach. 

“I find it very hard to believe that a top agent like you would just abandon your organization…” Danse told her, 

“Dude, do I look like I'm lying?” Chelsea asked him putting a hand on her hip, 

“First of all, stop calling me “Dude”, and second of all, you're my enemy. I shouldn't trust you.” 

“Well I’m not your enemy anymore…” Chelsea said trying to swade him, 

“But why the name change?” He asked her, “That alone is pretty suspicious behavior.” 

“If they knew how I really was, they would never accept my help. I really want to help The Brotherhood…” She lied, “Please keep my secret? Not just for me, but also for the Brotherhood?” She said giving him puppy dog eyes. 

Danse stared at her hard for a moment while his mind was buzzing with conflicting thoughts. She was his enemy, yes, but then again, she was a member of “The Brotherhood of Steel” now. Plus, she sounded pretty honest, and she did save his life when he spared her by making it look like he killed her. After a minute or two he sighed. 

“Alright, I trust you. I'm taking a huge risk and totally going against my Elder’s orders by doing this. If you step out of line or do anything to betray my trust, I'll put you down without argument.” 

“Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard all that before.” Chelsea said sarcastically, she then held her hand out to him. “Let's shake on it.” She said, 

Danse hesitated but then finally took her hand and gave it a firm shake. Then he spoke up. “If we're going to be fighting together, then we should probably start over. We may had gotten off on the wrong foot before…” He told her, “I’m Paladin Danse…” 

Chelsea smiled no longer afraid of the man in armor. “Pleasure to meet you. Around everyone else you can call me Robyn, but when you're just around me, you can call me by my real name…” 

“What is your real name?” Danse asked her, 

“Chelsea. Chelsea Love.”


	24. Chapter 24: "The Silver Shroud"

Nora and MacCready were walking out of the Old State House in “Goodneighbor”. The air was chilly enough now that Nora actually had to wear a coat, scarf, and gloves. She offered a pair of gloves and a scarf to MacCready but he told her that the cold didn't bother him too much, it was getting wet that he didn't stand. 

The Vault dweller began to look around at her surroundings admiring the entire town. “Goodneighbor’s” looking great, don't you think?” She said hoping to get an opinion out of him, 

The rundown city was already slightly decorated with blinking colorful lights strung up all around the town. This didn't surprise them however, after all, Christmas was only a few weeks away. 

MacCready tilted his head and shrugged, “Eh, it looks okay. You should've seen the Christmases we had back in “Little Lamplight”, everyone was always so pumped for the holidays.” 

Nora gave him an odd look. “Even you? The world’s biggest grump!?” 

MacCready laughed at that. “Yeah, even I wasn't mad during this time of year.” 

“Wow, it's a Christmas miracle!” Nora said jokingly, 

The two of them then shared a laugh and went straight back to business. 

“Okay, so we got our job from Hancock. Now, MacCready, I tend to forget things very easily, so I'll need you to keep the information that we were given in your mind in case I forget. Now, where did Hancock say he wanted us to go?” She asked him, 

“To “Pickman’s Gallery” to scout it out.” The mercenary replied, 

“And how much are we getting paid for this job?” Nora asked, 

“Four hundred caps. We're splitting it 50/50.” MacCready replied smiling, despite that he was still mourning Juliet’s death, just the thought of going with Nora to kill some goons and be rewarded with so many caps afterwards was enough to put a wide smile on the mercenary's face. 

Nora smiled and nodded, “Okay then, let's get going.” 

They both turned and headed for the exit but stopped when they heard a male yell sound above the loud chatter of the city. It was coming from one of the back alleys. 

“What was that?” Nora asked MacCready, 

MacCready shrugged, “I don't know...Let's check it out…” They headed for the alleyway where they heard the yell. They rounded the corner only to see a figure in black with a black fedora-like hat and sunglasses with a matching bandana around their face. They were standing over a man in combat armor pieces identical to the ones that the Gunners wore. He was dead. 

Their eyes widened at the sight. It was then that the figure in black placed a small card on the man’s corpse and looked up at them. They froze up and just stood there staring at them from behind their glasses. The figure started to slowly back away from them and dashed off down another alleyway. 

“Wait, who was that person? Where are they going?” Nora asked confused, MacCready rushed over to the corpse and knelt down next to it and picked up the small card that his murderer left behind. 

His eyes widened. “Nora...you might want to take a look at this…” He said nervously, the brunette ran over to MacCready and knelt down as well and he handed the card to her. When she looked at it her hazel irises shrunk and her mouth fell open. 

On the card was a picture of a figure dressed in black, just like the one that they just saw. On the bottom it said the words. 

_“The Silver Shroud”_

““The Silver Shroud”? I haven't listened to that radio show in years.” She said, sad memories flashed into her mind. Memories of her and her family tuning in every week to listen to “The Silver Shroud”. 

“You liked “The Silver Shroud”?” MacCready looked to her surprised, 

“Yeah, I didn't just like it, I loved it. My family and I used to listen to every new episode when they were first aired. Never missed a one.” Nora said ending that statement with a chuckle, 

MacCready smiled and laughed lightly too but that smile instantly faded as he looked down at the ground. 

“...It was Juliet’s favorite show too…” 

Nora’s smile faded as well. She noticed the tears that were starting to form in MacCready’s eyes as he desperately tried blink them back. 

“We listened to the episodes as well. Juliet had them all on holotape and we would listen to them together...We never finished doing that...I miss that…” 

Nora just looked at her friend sadly. He was getting a lot better as the days went on, but now this reminder of his lost friend caused him to completely crumble again. She put her hand on his shoulder for comfort while he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and sniffled. He then put on a weak smile and straightened up. 

“Come on, we have a job to do…” He told her, he turned and headed out of the alleyway while Nora just sadly stared after him. She shoved the card into her pocket and followed him out of “Goodneighbor” with her Pipboy now tuned to “The Silver Shroud” station. Where Kent Connolly was on the air. 

_“Listen up all “Silver Shroud” fans! “The Silver Shroud” is bringing justice to “Goodneighbor”! wherever there’s crime, the shroud will be there! Tune in to the radio station to learn more!”_

The duo walked out of Pickman’s Gallery, both their clothes and faces sported small blood spatters and they looked exhausted. 

“Well, thanks for the nightmare fuel!” MacCready said sarcastically,

“Come on, RJ. I'm sure that in your many years as a mercenary you have seen way worse.” Nora told him, since they were now good friends, the Vault dweller was getting used to calling MacCready by his real name. 

It had already been a few months since she escaped her Vault and headed out into the Commonwealth. She had accomplished so much in so little time. She became General of the Minutemen, made it to Diamond City, tracked down Kellogg and managed to kill him and found out that her son, Shaun had been taken to “The Institute”. Now she may had found a way into the place thanks to some new friends. Her name as well as her story was beginning to get recognized all over. The “Soul Survivor” people started to call her. She didn't think she was all that special, she still felt like same old Nora, but whatever floated the people’s boats. 

“Have you seen worse?” MacCready asked her surprised, 

Nora shrugged. “Actually I have...I mean, I did blow Kellogg’s brains out after all.” 

“Eesh.” The mercenary winced in slight disgust, 

“Well, at least the job is done, now we’ll never have to go back there ever again.” Nora said sounding relieved herself, 

“Thank god for that!” MacCready said really relieved as well, 

“And now, back to “Goodneighbor” to get our caps.” Nora continued, 

They began to head south for “Goodneighbor”. 

“I think this is the first time that I'll be happy to be back in that town.” MacCready said in another sarcastic jab. 

They entered the state house and headed up the spiral staircase to Hancock’s office. When they entered, Farenheight gave them a nod of approval and they approached the ghoulish mayor who was leaning up against the wall. 

“Hancock, we scouted out “Pickman’s Gallery” and even killed Pickman himself. It was horrible. He was using dead bodies for his art.” Nora explained, 

“Yeah, I'm probably gonna have nightmares for a week.” MacCready chimed in, 

Hancock smiled at them. “Really? That's extreme, even for me. But, you did your part, and a deal’s a deal. Here you go, as promised.” He then dropped four hundred bottle caps into Nora’s hand. 

She gleamed up at the mayor. “Thanks Hancock.” 

“No, thank you. You did good…

They exited the building and MacCready noticed Nora had a troubled look on her face. 

“You okay?” He asked her, 

Nora looked at her mercenary friend and replied, “It's just that person pretending to be “The Silver Shroud”...It bothers me…” 

“Why?” MacCready said confused, 

“I don't know, it's just weird that “Goodneighbor” has a hero now...a vigilante seeking justice and fighting the baddies that are doing wrong to the innocent. What's weird is that we don't know the shroud’s identity…” 

“What are you suggesting? That we try to find the shroud and find out who it is?” MacCready asked her, 

Nora smiled, “Exactly.” 

They peeked around a corner making sure that they weren't being watched. The Vault dweller and the mercenary began their search for any sign of “The Silver Shroud”. So far they saw nothing. 

“Where do you think they could be?” MacCready asked Nora, 

Nora shrugged, “Beats me.” 

It was then that they heard an explosion nearby. They ran to investigate. It happened by Bobbi No Nose’s place. There they saw a man by the name of AJ and a bunch of his bodyguards dead on the ground, their bodies on fire. 

Nora bent down. “Hmm...There’s no sign of gasoline on the ground. This was no random flare up, someone smoked these guys with a Molotov cocktail.” Nora said turning to her friend, 

Then something caught MacCready’s eye. There was a card on AJ’s body. 

“Nora, look.” He pointed to the card, Nora picked it up and looked at it closely. It was the same card that they found before. 

“The shroud was here alright.” She said, 

“Where do you think they are now?” MacCready asked,

“Don't know, but they're nearby. That's for sure.” Nora replied, 

They headed out into the town square where they saw two drifters talking. 

“I'm telling you, I saw them! I saw “The Silver Shroud!” One of the drifters exclaimed, it was a female human with dark skin and hair. 

The other drifter scoffed crossing her arms over her chest. She was a ghoul with blonde hair. “Yeah right! There's no way! No one has seen the shroud!” 

“It's the truth! I really saw the shroud! At The Third Rail!” The first drifter retaliated, “They were talking to Whitechapel Charlie! I don't know what it was about but it had to be something about a crime.” 

Both Nora and MacCready just looked at each other. 

“The Third Rail? The place where we met?” Nora said confused, 

MacCready nodded, “Yeah, let's go.” 

They entered the dingy bar where they were greeted by Ham and headed down the stairs of the old subway station where the air was tainted with the putrid smell of alcohol and cigarettes and the sound of endless chatter. The only thing that cut through all the noise was Magnolia’s sweet singing voice.

The duo headed over to the bar where Whitechapel Charlie was washing out a drinking glass. 

“Hey Charlie.” Nora greeted the Mr. Handy, 

“Oh, it's you.” Whitechapel Charlie said curtly, “What can I do for you today?” He asked, 

“We heard that “The Silver Shroud” was spotted here recently and that you were talking to them about something?” She asked him, 

“I don't share that kind of information with people like you. If you're another bloke who thinks I know the identity of the shroud, then you've come to the wrong guy. I ‘ave no bloody idea who the shroud is.” He replied harshly, 

“Can you tell us why they were here?” Nora begged, 

“Yeah, it’s not likely that they came here for the jazz or the booze.” MacCready said jokingly, 

“Sorry, can't tell you. The shroud themselves have sworn me to secrecy.” Charlie said sternly, 

Nora grumbled as she dug through her bag and pulled out a small pouch containing the four hundred caps that she and MacCready earned on the Pickman job. 

“Maybe THIS will change your mind?” She said tempting him, 

“Hey! We earned those!” MacCready interrupted, he couldn't believe that she was bribing Charlie with the caps that they almost died for. 

The Vault dweller turned to him. “Don't worry, we’ll earn more.” She told him, 

Charlie's mechanical claw grabbed the bag full of caps and tucked them away behind the counter. “Okay, the shroud came in ‘ere wanting information on the assassin known as Kendra. Claimed they were going to do her in. I told them that it was suicide but they didn't listen. Then they left.” 

“Where did you tell them to go?Tell us now before I bust your bolts.” MacCready threatened, 

“Huh, charming.” Charlie said sarcastically, “Kendra’s flat’s located just outside of “Goodneighbor”. “Water Street Apartments”…” 

“Thank you.” Nora said thankfully, 

They ran south of “Goodneighbor” to the “Water Street Apartments”. They ran into a little trouble with some Super Mutants, but they managed to take them down easily. They finally reached their destination. 

“Well there it is. Just like Charlie said.” Nora said, 

“Okay. So what's the plan?” MacCready asked her, 

“When the shroud comes out, we’ll approach them, back them into a corner, and find out their identity. Plain and simple.” Nora explained, 

“Uh, Nora? Is that “The Silver Shroud” right there?” MacCready asked pointing behind her, 

Nora turned and saw the shroud in the flesh exiting the building with a silver submachine gun that had just recently been fired. 

She gasped and ducked then both behind a large pile of rubble. “Yes! There they are. You know what to do.” She whispered, 

MacCready nodded and they emerged from their hiding spot. 

“Hey.” Nora said normally, the figure in black noticed them and froze up like before. Then they proceeded to run back towards “Goodneighbor”. 

“They're getting away!” Nora yelled, 

“Oh no they're not!” MacCready told her seriously, he was starting to get sick of this! He was tired of this costumed idiot always being one step ahead of them. He shoved his sniper rifle into Nora’s hands without warning and took off running after “The Silver Shroud”. He gained on them as the shroud themselves was starting to run out of steam. Before they could make a daring escape, the mercenary tackled the figure bringing them both falling hard onto the ground. They struggled as the shroud tried to push MacCready off of them while he was trying to pin them down. 

“Who are you!?” He demanded, he continued to fight against “The Silver Shroud” as they fought back against him, 

“...Let...Let me go…” The vigilante said in a raspy voice, but the mercenary didn't listen. They both continued to struggle trying so desperately to overpower each other. Eventually the shroud had finally had enough of this bullcrap. 

“I said...let GO OF ME!!!” They yelled, their voice pierced the peaceful evening and it sounded...odd...especially considering the fact that the voice sounded kind of like…

...a girl’s…

While the figure yelled this however, their foot went up and kicked MacCready in his…“unmentionables”. 

The mercenary winced in pain and fell to the side allowing the shroud to break free and scramble to their feet. They backed away slowly as they watched MacCready lay there groaning in agony. Then they heard footsteps accompanied by Nora’s voice and they ran off. 

Nora ran to MacCready’s side and helped him stand up. 

“RJ! Dude, are you okay!?” She asked him concerned, 

“Yeah...I'm fine.” He assured her, he then hissed in pain, “Aww man, they really got me good.” 

“Come on, it's late, we should head back to “Goodneighbor” and stay at the “Hotel Rexford” for the night…” 

They entered the town again and headed for the “Hotel Rexford” when one of the Neighborhood Watches stopped them. It was a ghoul in a fedora and was dressed up in patched three piece suit. 

“Hey, I heard Hancock wants a word with you two…” He said, 

They went into the state house for the third time that day and approached Hancock. 

“What is it you need now, Hancock?” Nora asked politely, 

I have another job for you.” Hancock told her, “Did you hear about that costumed freak that's been running around “Goodneighbor” spreading justice?” He asked them, 

“You mean the person pretending to be “The Silver Shroud”? Yeah, we've seen them.” Nora nodded,

“They kicked me in the balls!” MacCready whined, this elicited a laugh from Nora. 

Hancock chuckled, “Yeah well, they've been going around my town dispensing justice to those who deserve it.” He said, 

“Well, justice ain't gonna dispense itself.” MacCready interrupted, 

“Yeah, but we don't know who it is.” Nora said shaking her head, 

“Well neither do I, or anybody else in this whole damn town as a matter of fact. No one knows who the shroud is. One minute they're there and the next they're gone. Some people even went to Kent Connolly at “The Memory Den” to see if he would reveal the identity of the shroud, but he wouldn't cave.” Hancock explained, 

“We don't know much. All we know about the shroud is that it's a woman…” MacCready told him, 

“Yeah. Have you seen her?” Nora asked hopefully, 

Hancock nodded, “Yeah, she was here a little while ago. You missed her. I told her that I needed her to take out this guy named Sinjin. She then spoke in that ridiculous “Silver Shroud” impression saying that his “crimes won't go unpunished”, and then she left.” 

“Do you know where she was going?” Nora asked, 

“She went up north to take out some of his goons. But...that's also why I called you both here…” 

“What do we have to do with it?” Nora shrugged, 

“I need you to track down the shroud and see if you can find out her identity, then report back to me.” Hancock answered, 

“Why?” Nora shrugged, 

“Because I wanna personally thank the person who’s making my town a better place for my people. I'll even sweeten the deal with some caps. What’dya say?” He offered, 

Nora looked to MacCready who just shrugged at her. “You're the boss.” He said to her, Nora turned back to the mayor smiling and shook his hand. “Deal.” 

They left Hancock’s office and headed for the “Hotel Rexford”. 

“Do you think we’ll ever find out who the shroud is?” MacCready asked Nora as they entered the hotel, 

Nora paid Claire the right amount of caps for their room and turned to him. 

“I'm sure we will, MacCready...but for now, let's just sleep on it…”


	25. Chapter 25: "In The Line of Duty"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Shifting the focus back to Chelsea and Danse for a little while. Enjoy! ^^

Chelsea smiled as she slept soundly in her sleeping bag. She sighed as she enjoyed the dream that she was having. 

The Railroad Agent was then woken out of her sleep by the sound of metal being pounded. She opened her hazy chocolate brown eyes and saw a large grey blur. She blinked a few times to clear them up and saw Danse getting into his suit of power armor. She turned over on her side to look at the alarm clock next to her bag. 

“5:35 a.m”

‘What the hell is he doing up so early?’ She thought, she unzipped her sleeping bag and stood up. 

“Hey, Paladin Danse?” She said softly, 

Danse turned to her surprised to see her awake. 

“Oh, you're awake.” He said to her boredly, 

“Good morning to you too.” Chelsea said sarcastically, if you could describe the raven-haired tomboy in one word, it would be “sarcastic”. 

“What are you doing up?” He asked her trying to not sound surprised, 

“You woke me up with that rusted tin can of yours.” She gestured to his large metal suit, “I think the Tin Man from Oz wore less metal than you!” 

Danse was offended by that statement. “For your information, this “tin can” has been proven very useful during my missions. It saved my life on numerous occasions. Without this armor, I'd be dead. But I don't expect you to know that. I bet that an…“insubordinate” such as yourself has never even seen a suit of power armor before…” 

Chelsea decided to not let his little insult about her being an “insubordinate” bother her. She walked over to her backpack and pulled out a mug and a bag of coffee beans. She headed over to one of the coffee makers that they kept lying around. 

“I've seen them before, just never used one.” Chelsea replied, she dumped the coffee beans into the coffee maker and powered it up. She turned to face him again. 

“So, what are you doing up? You an early riser or something?” She asked him, 

“I'm going out to patrol the perimeter. As the only Paladin here I feel that it is my duty to keep you and the rest of the soldiers safe.” 

“Oh wow! Our Knight in Shining Armor!” Chelsea said sarcastically, 

“It's Paladin, thank you very much!” Danse said now extremely offended, 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go on. Go protect us from threats using your trusty “tin can”!” She mocked, 

Danse turned and glared at her. “Your mocking does not affect me, Railroad Agent. Do not attempt push my buttons again.” He warned her, 

“Oh,I'm sorrwy, did I hwurt your feelwings?” She teased talking to him as if he were a little child. 

Danse glared at her for another minute and he finally left slamming the door behind him. 

The coffee finished brewing and Chelsea poured herself a mug and looked back towards the door where Danse had left a few minutes before. She smirked as she sipped out of her mug and then took a bite out of the sweet roll that was in her left hand. 

Xxx

“Hey Robyn, can you come here for a minute?” Haylen called, 

Chelsea put down her pen and clipboard and ran over to the other Field Scribe. 

“I need you to help me retrieve something from the Poseidon Reservoir.” 

“Of course, what is it?” 

“My sources have managed to locate a haptic drive from there, I believe it will prove very useful to The Brotherhood. The only problem is, there’s supposedly a large amount of threats that make it too risky for me to go it alone...I need a team to go with me and back me up as I retrieve it.” Haylen explained, 

Chelsea just smiled at Haylen and nodded. “Sure, let's go. If you need help, I’ve got your back. When do you want to leave?” She asked her, 

“I was thinking right now. We just need one or two more people.” 

“I'll help.” One female Field Scribe spoke up, 

“Me too.” A male Knight chimed in as well, 

“...and I'll go too.” Another voice spoke up, 

Chelsea recognized that voice. She groaned rolling her eyes in annoyance. She turned to see Danse, surprisingly not in power armor, walking up to them. 

‘Seriously!? He's coming with!?’ She thought, 

Haylen beamed at the Paladin. “Really, Danse? Thanks. Alright, then, it's all settled. We’ll leave for the facility immediately.” She said, 

“Great!” Chelsea said sarcastically with an obvious fake smile. She looked to Danse who just narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Let's just go.” He said, 

The walk from the police station to the reservoir was long and exhausting. After walking for about a half hour of walking, everyone felt as if their legs were going to fall off. Even the one Knight that decided to accompany them, who was wearing power armor, was tired. 

“How much longer to the place, Haylen?” One of the Scribes asked her, 

“We’re almost there.” Haylen replied tired as well, she honestly looked like she was about to fall over. 

Chelsea then looked over and noticed that Danse was still walking not far ahead of them still looking fine. He didn't look tired or frustrated like any of the others. 

‘What's up with this guy? Is he like, a robot or something!?’ She thought to herself, making sure the others weren't watching her, she nonchalantly walked over to the Paladin and began to walk beside him. He looked pretty serious. 

“Hey Danse.” She said seriously, 

He looked at her, his serious expression not leaving his face. “Hello.” He said without any emotion, 

“So we uh, we shouldn't be too far from the place now.” She said awkwardly, this was so weird talking to the man who almost murdered her. 

“Yes, we are.” Danse simply replied, 

“Right.” Chelsea gave a nod, “So like, you decided to come with us...even though I'm here…you finally starting to warm up to me?” She asked flirtatiously, 

“Don't get the wrong idea, I'm doing this for Haylen. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing for you and me to discuss.” Danse said harshly, he sounded like he really didn't want to make conversation. Chelsea nervously twiddled her thumbs trying to keep busy. But then she found herself speaking to him again. 

She rubbed her arm. “Hey uh...I just want to say thank you for not killing me some time back...hehe.” 

Danse looked at her as if she were crazy. 

The raven-haired woman flashed him a cheesy smile. “It meant a lot to me, you know, letting me live. But...I gotta know...why did you do it?” 

Danse glared at her as if he were trying to stare her down. “What happened to you was not a common occurrence. I have never spared anyone else that was an enemy of The Brotherhood. Don't look too much into it and consider yourself lucky.” He said almost threateningly, 

Chelsea then turned her head and looked at some of the barren trees that were already asleep for winter. 

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached their destination. Poseidon Reservoir. 

“Okay, the haptic drive is in there. This will be a quick in and out mission, no dilly-dallying. Now remember guys, this facility has been abandoned for years, so it is most likely that it has become a nesting place for all sorts of vermin, some may be even life threatening, so stay sharp.” Haylen explained to them, 

The Knight saluted her as the other recruits copied him. “You got it, Haylen.” 

Danse did the same thing as Chelsea followed his example. “Yeah Haylen, we got your back.” Danse said supportively, 

Haylen smiled at her brothers and sisters and they proceeded inside. They were instantly greeted by a few radroaches including one that was glowing from nuclear fallout. Scribe Haylen and the other Scribe that tagged along aimed their laser rifles at them and managed to take them out. 

Haylen turned to her right and headed down the long ramp and the others followed suit. The area down below was flooded with murky water and guck in the rusted pipes. Glowing fungus and Brain fungus were everywhere. 

“So, where’s that drive, Haylen?” Danse asked his comrade, 

The Field Scribe looked around until her eyes spotted a red chest. 

“There! It should be in that chest!” She said urgently, she and the others ran over to it and Haylen struggled to open the old chest. 

“It won't open.” She said, 

“How come?” The Knight asked, 

The other Scribe that came with them tugged at the lid of the trunk as well and almost immediately found out the problem. 

“There's a lock on this thing, we need an amazing locksmith to get it open.” 

“You mean you can't get it open?” Danse asked her, 

“No, someone else has to open it.” She replied shaking his head, 

Chelsea though it over. She was a pretty good locksmith. Her lock-picking skills had proven useful when doing missions for “The Railroad”. She took a deep breath before shyly raising her hand. 

“Umm...I could do it…” She said nervously, 

All eyes were now on her. Everyone was surprised except for Danse who looked at her seriously again. If looks could kill, Chelsea would have been a corpse already. 

“...Do you think you can do it, Robyn?” Haylen asked her hopefully,

Chelsea smiled bashfully and she shrugged. “I know I can, I've learned my ways around a lock since I was a child.” 

Danse just narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. 

“Good, then you can pick the lock.” Haylen told her, then out of nowhere, a couple of Mirelurks popped out of the ground. 

“Whoa! Mirelurks!” Chelsea yelled, 

Danse then sprung into action. “Everyone else, help me take care of these Mirelurks! Keep them away from Robyn!” He ordered, they began to shoot rapidly out of their laser rifles at the large hideous crab people. 

In less than twenty seconds, Chelsea picked the lock and threw the lid to the chest open. Inside it was a lot of weapons and ammo, but one certain item caught her eye. 

It was the haptic drive that they were searching for. She reached for it and grabbed it and shoved it into a puch she kept on her for safe keeping. Then she heard Haylen’s scream. She whirled around to see the brilliant Scribe about to be taken down by one of the Mirelurks. 

Chelsea aimed her laser rifle at the large crab and pulled the trigger releasing the red beam of light and sliced one of its arms clean off. The Mirelurk screeched in pain and retreated beneath the surface. She ran over and reached her hand out to the Scribe. 

“You okay, Haylen?” She asked her, 

Haylen grabbed Chelsea’s hand and stood up. “Yeah, thanks a lot, Robyn.” She said thankfully, 

Haylen then called out to everyone else. “Is everyone okay!?” 

“We’re good!” The other Scribe said, 

“Did Robyn manage to pick the lock?” The knight asked, 

Chelsea proudly reached into her pouch and pulled out the haptic drive. “Got it right here.” She said, “And,” she wandered over to the chest. “I also found these goodies as well…” She flipped open the lid again revealing all of the guns and ammo that were also in the chest. 

“Excellent work. Now we just need to get this back to the police station.” Haylen told them, 

They exited the facility. 

Danse looked at Chelsea and looked down at the ground. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do. 

“Chelsea…” He said quietly so the other Brotherhood members couldn't hear her real name, 

Chelsea turned to him. “Yes?”

“That was...a pretty amazing thing you did back there...saving Haylen…” He said awkwardly, 

Chelsea was taken aback a but by this. “Uh, thank you.” She said, 

But then Danse began to look around him in suspicion as if something was wrong. 

“What is it?” Chelsea asked him, 

He pulled out his laser rifle as if he were preparing to shoot. 

Suddenly, four Mirelurk Hunters popped up out of the ground. Everyone else turned to see the horrible creatures and pulled out their weapons as well. The Mirelurk Hunters charged at the group and they proceeded to shoot. 

Danse shot lasers at one of the large mutated crustacean but it didn't seem to take any effect to his attacks. 

The Mirelurk Hunter struck him hard in the chest. Thankfully his power armor, though, he wasn't hurt too much by it. 

“Ad Victoriam!” He yelled, he shot rapidly at it and the large creature finally fell. He was proud of his victory. The Paladin looked at his comrades who had luckily managed to kill one Mirelurk Hunter and drive the other one away. 

“All clear? Okay, where’s-?” Danse was cut off by a loud scream. They all looked off in another direction to see Chelsea going up against the last Mirelurk Hunter. She rapid-fired at it but it just charged through and knocked her laser rifle right out of her hands. It smacked her to the ground and looked over her ready to finish her. 

“Aah! Help me!” She shrieked, 

Then a red laser shot straight through the Hunter’s chest. It collapsed next to the raven-haired woman as she stared at it in shock. Then something else shocked her even more. 

Danse ran over to her and knelt down closer to her. 

“Are you okay?” He asked her looking legitimately concerned, 

Chelsea blinked once in surprise, he saved her? And he was concerned about her safety? She slowly nodded and replied, “Y...Yeah. I'm okay.” 

“You sure?” He questioned her, 

“Yeah, I'm certain,” she attempted to stand on her own only to see Danse take her hand and pull the Railroad Agent to her feet. 

“Thank you again, Danse.” She said, the others ran over to them. 

“Are you okay, Robyn?” The Knight asked, 

Chelsea nodded, “Yeah, I'm okay, thank you.” 

“Well, now that we have what we came here for, we should get back to the station.” Danse told them, 

The journey back was quiet. Nobody said a word at all. Haylen was leading the way back while the Knight and the Scribe followed, and Chelsea and Danse trailed far behind. 

They both looked down at the ground completely silent. Until Chelsea once again decided to speak up again. 

“Hey...why...why did you save me? I thought you hated me.” She asked him, 

Danse hesitated before replying. He sighed, “I couldn't let you just get killed by that Mirelurk Hunter. We may not get along, but...you're my comrade, and it is in the code of honor that I defend my fellow soldiers in combat. Besides, I don't hate you. We may had been enemies once, but now, I know the type of person you really are. I knew it the moment you rescued Haylen. You deeply care about others, you’ll do whatever it takes to help the group...I respect that…” 

Then he smiled at her. 

He actually smiled at her. 

Chelsea smiled back as a very light blush spread across her face as she tucked a stray of black hair behind her ear. 

“...Thanks Dansey.” She said, she then gave him a playful punch on the arm only to wince and retract her hand which was now in slight pain from hitting the metal of his power armor. They both lightly laughed at that but then Danse’s look got serious again. 

He sighed, “Look Chelsea, we're going to be fighting together a lot. If we're all going to survive, then we'll need to stick together, therefore, we need to start getting along. I'm willing to put forth the effort to get along if you will…” He told her, 

Chelsea continued to smile and then she nodded. “Sure thing, Danse...Sure thing…”


	26. Chapter 26: A Way In

After the mission at Poseidon Reservoir, the group returned to the Cambridge Police Station where Haylen began to study the haptic drive to figure out how it worked and the many possible uses that it had. Everything seemed to go back to the way it was before, the only difference was that Danse and Chelsea were slowly starting to get along. They still had a few fights here and there, but they didn't hate each other like they did before. 

The Railroad Agent started to worry, however. She needed to get back up in “The Prydwen” and hack the Proctor’s terminal and get the hell out of there. 

‘I need to think of an excuse or something to get me back up there.” She thought to herself, 

Later on in the week, Danse returned to the police station but there was someone else with him. It was a woman in power armor with brown hair and hazel eyes. Chelsea was confused as to whom this woman was, but the way the other soldiers were reacting to her presence, she seemed to be someone really important. 

“So, you really think that this interceptor can get us inside “The Institute”?” Danse asked her, 

The woman smiled proudly, “Yep. I got the plans from an ex-Institute scientist. You can't get a better source than that!” 

“Have you spoken with Elder Maxson about this breakthrough?” Danse asked quirking an eyebrow, 

“Yeah, he told me to talk to Proctor Ingram about it. She said it will take time and will require a lot of materials and parts, but she said that we can most definitely build a teleporter to the Institute right in the Boston Airport.” She explained, 

“Excellent. I'll see to it that you get the parts that you’ll need.” Danse told her, 

“Thanks, Danse.” She replied smiling, 

‘“The Institute”? She found a way into the Institute?’ Chelsea thought, now intrigued, the raven-haired woman walked over to them and spoke up. 

“Hey Danse, this a friend of yours?” She asked him, 

“Oh yes, of course. This is Nora. Our newest Knight. She's training under my sponsorship.” Danse introduced, 

Nora smiled and waved at the girl. “Hi there.” She said, 

Chelsea smiled back, “Hey.” 

“Oh uh, if you two’ll excuse me, I have to do some patrolling outside the station.” Danse said, then without another word, he walked out of the police station.   
“Well, it's very nice to meet you, Nora.” Chelsea said kindly, 

“Likewise.” Nora nodded,

The Railroad Agent shook the Knight’s hand. “I'm Chelsea Love…” 

“Wait, Chelsea Love. You don't happen to know Robert Joseph MacCready, do you?” Nora asked her, 

Chelsea nodded, “I do. He’s one of my friends. Do you know him?” 

“Yeah, I hired him as my mercenary, we’ve known each other for a while.” Nora answered, 

“Oh, I see,” Chelsea replied, “He, Juliet and I used to be really close when we were kids.” 

“Yeah, I heard about your friend, I’m sorry.” Nora said her face suddenly somber, 

Chelsea frowned as well. She had also gotten word that Juliet had been killed. “Thank you.” She said, then she perked up again. “So, what was it that you and Danse were talking about a few minutes ago?” 

Nora brightened up again as well. “I’m glad you asked. It’s kind of a long shot and sounds like a crazy idea, but I think I have found a way into “The Institute”.” She told her, 

“Really? How?” Chelsea asked curiously, 

“I managed to track down an ex-Institute scientist who left the Institute some time back. He told me that they used teleportation to get in and out.” She explained, 

“Teleportation!? Are you serious!?” Chelsea said amazed, she and the others back at headquarters never would have guessed that the Institute would be capable of such a technology. But then again, they were able to make synthetic people. Perhaps there wasn’t anything that those eggheads couldn’t do. 

“So, how do you plan to work around that?” Chelsea asked quirking an eyebrow, 

“I have to build a Signal Interceptor in order for it to work. It will de-materialize me in one place and re-materialize me in another. It’s risky, but it’s the only way.” 

The raven-haired tomboy just nodded again. “Makes sense.” 

“Yeah. Well, I’d better get back to work, Danse and I have to go speak with Elder Maxson about something important.” Nora said, she threw on her power armor helmet and headed for the door. 

Chelsea blinked in surprise, they could possibly get her up to “The Prydwen” again. 

‘...I could get to the terminal.’ She thought, 

She then stopped Nora. “Hey! Wait up!” 

The Vault dweller turned back to her. “Yeah?” 

“Uh...I need to go up to “The Prydwen” myself. Do you think I could go with you and Danse?” She asked, 

“Sure, why not? I’ll let him know.” Then she exited the police station. 

Chelsea smiled, “Good.” 

The three of them shared a vertibird up to “The Prydwen” and instantly bid each other goodbye. Chelsea walked down through the corridors of the common area trying to not look too suspicious. Proctor Quinlan didn't appear to be present. 

“Good, the coast is clear…” She said to herself, she looked around one more time to make sure that she was alone. She walked across the room to the Proctor’s terminal and began to type away. 

“Okay, I need to find the password…” She began to type through the options.   
“Hmm...Honor? No. Glory? No...Aha! I got it!” She typed in the final guess. 

“Victory!” 

The terminal unlocked and a bunch of info on The Brotherhood came up on the screen. 

“Yes. The info on The Brotherhood. It's all here.” Chelsea pulled the holotape out of her pouch. “Now, I just need to load the holotape onto the terminal and I should be…” 

It was then that the Railroad spy heard a little mew. She looked down to see Proctor Quinlan’s cat looking back up at her. He got up on his hind legs and pawed at her left leg constantly meowing over and over again. 

“Shh! Shh! Quiet kitty! Please be quiet!” She yelled in a whisper, 

But the cat wouldn't stop. She tried to walk away but the cat just followed her. It was then that the cat rubbed his head against her legs which startled her. 

“Whoa!” She yelled, she then ended up tripping on her own feet. She finally regained her balance and found herself standing face-to-face with Proctor Quinlan. 

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Scribe Robyn, what are you doing in my quarters?” He asked her, 

“I...I wanted to report that I have completed all of my duties down at the police station. I was wondering if my services was required here.” 

“No, I don't believe they are. But let me see if I can find something for you…” Proctor Quinlan began to look around until he remembered the conversation that he overheard with Elder Maxson talking to Nora and Danse. A smile came up on his face. 

“Perhaps, you could assist Miss Nora and Paladin Danse on a mission…” He said, 

Chelsea’s smile faded. “Oh, I don't know. They probably don't need a Scribe for what they're going to do…” She said nervously, 

Proctor Quinlan paid no mind to this and grabbed her arm pulling her off. 

“Nonsense! I'm sure they could use an extra hand!” He assured her, 

Chelsea just looked back at the terminal as they walked away. 

Chelsea ended up accompanying Danse and Nora on a mission to Fort Strong to take out some Super Mutants. 

The vertibird landed on the ground and the three of them hopped off. 

“Well, that flight couldn't have gone smoother.” Chelsea remarked, of course she was being sarcastic. The flight to the island was anything but smooth. Unless you call getting shot at and attacked by a behemoth “smooth”. 

Nora just laughed at the raven-haired girl’s sarcasm while Danse just rolled his eyes. “Enough sarcasm, we have a mission to complete.” He said strictly, he then headed inside the abandoned military base. The other two followed close behind and once they entered they looked around. The place was a complete wreck. The Bombs and the Super Mutants sure did a number on it. Wood was splintered, rubble, old papers, and garbage littered the floor, and the worst part. There were meat bags with human limbs and guts in them hanging everywhere. 

Seeing the hanging bags of meat made both Nora and Chelsea feel sick to their stomachs. Chelsea cringed and winded in disgust while Nora tried her best not to throw up. 

“Okay, the armory should be in the sub-level area. Follow me.” Danse ran into an old office area with terminals that were busted up beyond repair and dusty shelves. He attempted to open the door to the next room only to find that it was locked. 

“Ugh, its locked.” He said bitterly, 

“Don't worry, I can pick it.” Chelsea offered, she dug through her pouch for a bobby pin but was stopped when she saw Danse kick the door down with the heavy metal foot of his power armor. Chelsea and Nora both stood back wide-eyed. 

“...Or you could just do that.” Chelsea said surprised, 

They ran into the next room where a few Super Mutants were waiting for them with pipe guns and boards. 

“Puny humans! I'll wear your guts around my neck!” One of them yelled, 

The three of them charged in shooting with no mercy. 

“Back off you mutated scum!” Danse yelled back, they rapid-fired at the Mutants and finally put an end to them. They rounded a corner and went down a hallway to the elevator. 

“The armory should be down there, but we’re not out of the woods yet. there’s a good chance that there will be Super Mutants down there too…” Danse said disgusted, “Ugh! Disgusting savage creatures.” 

The elevator dinged and they went in and headed down towards the sub-level of the military base. The elevator ride down was rather tight spaced thanks to two of the people in the elevator wearing power armor. Finally, they reached the right level and exited hearing more Super Mutants not far away. 

“If they see us, go in with all you can give them. “Take no Prisoners”.” Danse whispered to the two women, 

They both nodded, “Got it.” Nora replied, 

Danse gave a nod back and looked around again making sure that they were perfectly hidden. They snuck down the ramp of debris and past the hallway of Super Mutants. It was then that one of them heard the sound of a tin can clanking the ground. They all turned in the direction of the noise to see the three heroes. 

Danse looked back at Nora and Chelsea who were staring at him slightly scared. Chelsea then shifted the tin can from where it rested near her foot over by Nora’s foot and pointed at her trying to shift the blame on the Vault dweller. 

Danse rolled his eyes. 

“There! You! I'm gonna feast on your flesh!” One of the Mutants yelled, the group of Super Mutants charged towards them. Danse made a duck for cover and Nora shot a few down and then headed down the way towards the armory. 

Chelsea aimed her laser rifle at them but found that her attacks weren't doing any good. One of the Super Mutants grabbed her by the shirt collar and pulled her up close to his face. She could smell the horrid scent of beer and various meats on their breath. 

“Hmm, this one, this one look good.” One of them said to his brother, the other mutant looked at the raven-haired girl for a minute and then instantly smiled. 

“Yes! We shall feast on human girl’s flesh tonight!” He said victoriously, 

“No wait! J-Just hold on a second! Please! Y-You don't wanna eat me, man! I'm all chewy! I don't taste good!” Chelsea said hastily trying to buy time. 

But either the Super Mutant didn't care about what he ate, or he wasn't buying it. Trying to think of a way out, the Railroad Agent saw an opening and jammed her boot into the mutant’s crotch. It yelped in pain and dropped Chelsea in the process. She grabbed her gun and shot at the fallen creature like no tomorrow. She quickly killed it. 

Meanwhile, Danse could only stand back and watch Chelsea take out the remaining Super Mutants. He was surprised and even kind of impressed. He hadn't realized until now what great fighting capabilities she had. Sure, he knew she was a great fighter the night that they met, but he had completely forgotten about it until now. 

When she was done, Chelsea came back to him breathing heavily in and out. 

“Cleared out the mutant scum.” She said,   
Danse stared at her but then shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Uh. Good job, Chelsea. Let's get to that arsenal.” 

They ran down the hall that Nora went and they saw before them a whole arsenal of mini nukes. 

Chelsea’s eyes widened in wonder. “Whoa...look at all this…and those big ugly green guys were playing around these?” She asked, 

“Yes, the very thought of those abominations maintaining such an arsenal is repulsive.” Danse replied, 

Nora turned to them. “Now what do we do?” 

He looked at Nora. “Nora, you go back “The Prydwen”, I'm sure Elder Maxson will want to speak with you personally.” He told her, he then looked to Chelsea. “Chelsea, head on back to the police station, I'll be back there soon.” He said, 

Both women nodded and headed for the elevator back up to the surface. They exited the military base where a vertibird was already waiting for them. They rode it back to “The Prydwen” and Nora was dropped off. Chelsea got off too. 

“Well, here's my stop, I have to speak with Elder Maxson.” Nora said, 

Chelsea smiled at her. “Good luck, Nora.” Nora smiled and gave a nod and entered “The Prydwen”.   
Chelsea then began to act casual as she headed for the ship's entrance as in hopes of sneaking back into the airship. 

‘Okay, now I can get the holotape into the terminal.’ She thought, but she was stopped when she felt a hand grab her arm. She turned to see another one of the Field Scribes. It was a male. 

“Robyn, I heard Haylen needs you back at the station stat.” He told her, 

Chelsea sighed. “Very well.” The Scribe then led her back to the vertibird that was going to take her back to the station.


	27. Chapter 27: Getting to Know One Another

When she arrived back, she went down into the station and saw Haylen in the lobby looking over a piece of paper. 

“Hey Haylen.” She greeted the Scribe, 

Haylen looked up and smiled at Chelsea. “Robyn, there you are, I was looking for you.” 

“I heard. What is it?” Chelsea asked, 

“Well, I assume that you know by now that Nora is planning to build a Signal Interceptor to get inside “The Institute”...” Haylen replied, 

The raven-haired woman nodded, “Yeah.” 

“Well Proctor Ingram has sent me a list of some of the materials that we'll need to complete the thing.” Haylen then handed the Railroad spy the paper that she was reading. “As you can see, we have gotten most of the items on the list already. But we're missing one thing…” 

“...A Sensor Module?” Chelsea said quirking an eyebrow, 

“That's right. We’ve searched for miles and we can't seem to find one,” Haylen explained, “But, I think I have an idea of where one may be…” 

“I'm listening…” Chelsea said, 

“At the “Electrical Hobbyist’s Club” not too far West. Somewhere near “The Glowing Sea”. She said, 

“Oh yeah, that sounds safe.” Chelsea said sarcastically, 

“I know it sounds risky but it's the only place we've got. Otherwise we got nothing...Do you think you could go and fetch it please?” Haylen asked her, 

Chelsea smiled and sighed. “Alright.” 

“Thanks, Robyn. If you want, I can ask Danse to accompany you there.” Haylen added, 

“Why?” Chelsea asked her, 

“Well, I’ve noticed that you two have been getting along a lot better. So, I think you guys could work great together...Unless you don’t want him to tag along…” 

“NO! I mean, no it’s fine. He can come if he wants too…” Chelsea said smiling uneasily, 

“Okay then, I’ll let him know that you’ve requested his help.” Haylen beamed, 

Once Danse made it back to the police station, he and Chelsea both instantly prepared to leave for their destination. 

“Robyn, I highly recommend that you go equipped with some power armor.” Haylen told her, 

“Why?” Chelsea asked confused, 

“Well, it’s called “The Glowing Sea” for a reason,” Haylen explained, “Besides a Hazmat Suit, power armor is the best way to combat radiation.” 

“Okay, where can I find it?” Chelsea asked, 

“Your suit is on the roof. Be careful out there, you two.” Haylen said now looking worried, 

“Don’t worry, Haylen. Both Robyn and I will make it back in one piece. I promise.” Danse promised her, 

Chelsea just smiled. She thought that what he told Haylen was really sweet. 

The Paladin then turned to her. “Ready to move out?” He asked her. 

The Railroad Agent smiled up at him. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

The two of them headed up to the roof where the suit of power armor was waiting for them, just like Haylen said. 

“Whoa! Cool!” Chelsea said impressed by the suit of Brotherhood power armor, she ran up to it and then began to circle it confused. 

“How do I get into this again?” She asked Danse, 

He just smiled and shook his head laughing lightly. “You turn that large ring on the back and climb into it.” He replied, 

Time seemed to slow down for Danse as Chelsea turned the knob on the back of the large metal suit and it opened up and she climbed in. The armor closed around her until she was covered from head to toe. 

She looked at Danse. “How do I look?” She asked, her voice now sounded amplified and slightly static for her face was covered by a helmet. 

Danse stared at her mouth agape. She looked really good in power armor. He felt it matched her combative nature. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the Railroad spy talking and waving her hand in front of his face. 

“Uh...Danse? You okay?” Chelsea asked him,

He wasn’t responding. 

“Hello! Earth to Danse!” She said, 

Finally, he regained focus and shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

“Oh, uh, sorry Chelsea. I don’t know what came over me.” 

Chelsea smiled at him from inside her helmet. “Hey, don’t sweat it, dude. It’s cool. Ready to leave?” 

Danse smiled and nodded, “Yes, let’s.” 

They headed Westward to “The Glowing Sea”. The walk there was like all the other walks that they had shared. 

Quiet. 

Danse looked at the raven-haired woman as he walked beside her. He hesitated but eventually spoke up. 

“So…” He started, “I see that you and Scribe Haylen have gotten close since you joined our ranks.” 

Chelsea looked over at him. “Yeah, I guess we have. I honestly didn’t think I’d make any friends when I joined up.” She replied, 

“...What do you think of Haylen?” He asked her, 

“She’s really cool, a good soldier no doubt. She’s strong and capable and knows what she’s doing.” Chelsea answered, 

“Chelsea, I wasn’t really asking about what you thought of her as a soldier. I meant, what do you think of her as a human being?” Danse asked again, 

Chelsea stopped walking and turned to him. “Whoa, the man in the armor has human feelings.” She said sarcastically, 

“Please Chelsea, no jokes, be serious. What do you think of Haylen?” 

The Railroad Agent started walking again as he followed her. “Well, I did mean it when I said she’s a good soldier. She’s loyal and smart, and very nice. It’s great to have someone to talk to around the police station.” 

Danse nodded, “I see.” 

“Why do you ask? Is she okay?” Chelsea asked now sounding a little worried herself, 

“No, she’s fine. It’s just that...I’m a little worried about her…” Danse replied, 

Chelsea stopped walking again and turned to face him. “Why are you worried?” 

Danse sighed, “Well, some time back one of my Knights was shot down by Raiders. Haylen stayed by that Knight’s side for two nights straight without any sleep, fighting desperately to keep him alive. But his health was slowly declining…” 

“What happened?” Chelsea asked, 

Danse sighed again. “Well, eventually she did what had to be done. I ordered her to administer an overdose of painkillers so he would die with dignity. She did it without question. Later on that night, while I was patrolling, she came out and broke down in my arms and I just...held her...I didn’t really know what else to do. Eventually she kissed my cheek, said “Thank you”, and went back inside.” 

“What’s wrong with that? You did what you had to do, if there was no saving him, then it was best to put him out of his misery then just let him suffer.” Chelsea told him, 

The Paladin’s shoulders slumped a little. “I know, that’s what I keep telling myself. However, I feel that what I did was wrong anyway. I made Haylen go against her medical training and do something that she could never even think of doing. I feel that I may had pushed her too hard.” 

Chelsea walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I think you did good. Haylen will be okay, I know she’ll pick herself up and push through…” 

“How can you tell?” Danse asked her, 

“...Because she learned that from you…” Chelsea replied, 

Danse looked up at her but she couldn’t see the surprised look on his face thanks to his power armor helmet. 

After that they continued on until they reached the “Electrical Hobbyist’s Club”. The place was of course deserted and the radiation levels were awful. 

“So, this is the place?” Chelsea said taking it in, 

“Yep, we’re here,” Danse said, “According to Haylen, the Sensor Module should be located in the basement.” 

“Okay then, let’s go.” Chelsea said heading for the front entrance. It was then that he noticed Chelsea was about to go through a laser tripwire that would set off a trap of some kind. 

“Chelsea! Be careful!” He yelled, he ran over and grabbed her before she could step through the pink laser beams. He pointed at them. “Laser traps, be careful.” 

“Oh, okay. Sorry.” She apologized blushing under her helmet, 

“Honest mistake,” Danse replied, “Come on, let’s get that module.” 

They stepped over the trap as to not set it off, disabled a landmine, and then headed down to the cellar. The cellar itself looked like it had been deserted for years. There was not much around, except for some wrecked up desks and a few more laser traps. They began to look around for the Sensor Module. 

“Okay, keep your eyes peeled for that module.” Danse told her, Chelsea nodded and they split up to search the room. Chelsea headed over and searched one table where she saw three holotapes. She picked them up and looked at the names that were written on them. 

“Maybe Nora will want these…” She said to herself, she tucked them away in her pouch and continued to search while Danse managed to pull a missile launcher from a trap by the entrance. 

“This should prove useful to The Brotherhood.” He said out loud, 

Chelsea continued to search until she noticed another desk in the room and saw a weird looking piece of technology on it.

She picked it up and turned it over in her fingers inspecting it closely. “Hey Danse? What does this thing do?” She asked him, 

Danse noticed the object in her hands and his eyes widened. “Chelsea! That’s it! You found the Sensor Module!” 

Chelsea’s eyes widened as well. “I..I did!?” 

“Yeah! Good work, soldier! Come on, let’s get this back to Haylen!” They both turned to leave but they didn’t notice that they stepped through one last laser trap. It was then that they heard something surging and they slowly turned to see an Assaultron powering up. Their eyes widened. 

The Assaultron noticed their presence and said: “Intruders. Initiating Defense Protocols.” It then charged towards them ready to attack. 

Both Chelsea and Danse got their laser rifles ready and aimed at the ruthless robot. 

“Eat lasers you bucket of bolts!” Chelsea yelled out, she rapidly pressed her finger down on the trigger causing red hot laser beams to to shoot out of the gun and hit the robot. They battled it out with the Assaultron, it seemed that the duo and the combat robot were evenly matched. 

It was then that Chelsea noticed an opening where she could hack the Assaultron and shut it down. Along with her master lock-picking skills, the Railroad Agent was also highly skilled in hacking and robotics. Back at headquarters, she was the one who always helped out P.A.M when she needed repairs or had to run a diagnostic. 

When she knew it was safe, the raven-haired woman made a break for the back of the Assaultron and inserted a cord into the slot. She pulled out a small controller like device and selected the “Initiate Shut Down” option. 

The Assaultron instantly shut down slumped forward as it’s red light went out. Danse stared at her surprised. She just stared back at him. 

“...Nice work…” He complimented her, 

“...Thanks.” Chelsea replied, 

They made it back to the police station with the Sensor Module in their possession. They both got out of their power armor and handed the component over to Haylen who was even more happy to see that they had returned safely. 

“It’s good to see you two are still alive.” She told them, 

“It wasn’t too hard. Chelsea waved her off, 

“We’re just glad to be back.” Danse said, 

“Well, that was the last thing on the list. We have everything we need now. Nora can build the Signal Interceptor thanks to the two of you.” Haylen said, 

“Consider it an honor to be of service to The Brotherhood.” Chelsea replied, this caused Danse to look at her sightly taken aback. 

“Well, I’ll get this to Proctor Ingram over at the Boston Airport. It is my duty to tell you two that you are free to go. Ad Victoriam.” Haylen smiled, 

Both Chelsea and Danse crossed their fists over their hearts. “Ad Victoriam.” They both said together, 

The three of them dispersed but Danse noticed Chelsea was heading for the staircase to the roof.   
“Chelsea? Where are you going?” He asked her, 

Chelsea smiled, “I’m gonna chill on the roof for a bit. Wanna come along?” She asked him, 

Danse smiled and nodded. “Sure.” 

They both headed up to the roof where they sat with their legs hanging over the edge looking out at the Commonwealth as the sun was setting putting an end to another day. 

Chelsea looked over at the Paladin sitting next to her and decided to ask him something. She only hoped he wouldn’t get offended. 

“Hey Danse? Why do you love The Brotherhood so much?” She asked him curiously, 

He looked at her. “Well, when I was young and growing up in the Capital Wasteland, I worked with a man named Cutler and we were best friends. Eventually, “The Brotherhood of Steel” came through and was seeking new recruits. We decided that it was our chance to be heroes, a chance to start anew. I feel it is an honor to serve The Brotherhood and fight for what’s right.” 

“Wait, you came from the Capital Wasteland!?” Chelsea said surprised, 

“Yes, I was born there, eventually I was transferred here but that’s where I’m from.” Danse nodded, 

“No way! I’m from the Capital Wasteland too!” Chelsea replied, 

“Whadd’ya know!? You learn something new everyday.” Danse said chuckling a bit, 

Chelsea giggled too. 

They went quiet again. After awhile, Danse caught himself looking over at her. 

He didn’t understand her. She was a Railroad Agent, she rescued synths, the very thing that The Brotherhood came to destroy. To him, they were nothing but weapons created by The Institute. She, on the other hand, thought that they were something more. She saw them as human beings too. Ever since she joined The Brotherhood, the Paladin racked his brain to try and figure out how she could feel such strong emotions for a race of machines. 

He looked down at the ground as he thought of the right thing to say. 

“Hey Chelsea? Can I ask you a question? 

Chelsea looked up at him. “Yeah?” 

“I, uh, I told you a bit about me, but I don’t know anything about you…” Danse said, 

Chelsea pulled her black ponytail over her left shoulder and began to fiddle with the strands. “Well, I was alone when I was a child. I stole everything I needed to survive. Eventually I found my way into a settlement called “Little Lamplight”.” She told him, 

““Little Lamplight”? Never heard of it.” Danse said quirking and eyebrow, 

“It was a settlement in the Capital Wasteland consisting only of kids. We didn’t really trust adults so we just took care of ourselves as well as each other. You know MacCready? He was our mayor for awhile…” 

Danse got an annoyed look at the mention of the sarcastic mercenary. “Yeah, Nora’s introduced me to him. Nothing but an insubordinate civilian in my opinion…” He said boredly, 

“Take it from me, he’s not all that bad once you get to know him.” Chelsea assured him, 

“Can I ask you something else? Why were you a member of “The Railroad”?” Danse asked again, 

Chelsea looked at him oddly, “What do you mean?” She said confused, 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Chelsea, but those people who you worked for are nothing but a bunch of whack jobs who love saving machines that think they're alive. Why would you want to associate yourself with those people?” He asked her, 

Chelsea chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’ve heard it all before. You’re not the first person to call us crazy. I wasn’t going to join The Brotherhood because I despised them.” 

“Why did you despise them?” Danse asked quirking an eyebrow, 

Chelsea’s eyes teared up. She remembered her family and what had happened to them.

“I don't like to talk about it…” She said, “But to answer your question, I joined “The Railroad” the same reason you joined “The Brotherhood of Steel”. I believed that I was making a difference, that I was fighting for a good cause.” 

“Helping synths.” Danse interrupted, 

“...Yes, by helping synths.” She finished awkwardly, 

“Chelsea, I don’t get it. What do you see in those automatons?” He asked her, 

The raven-haired woman looked at him slightly offended. “They are NOT automatons!” She retaliated, “They’re people too! Why can’t you see that!?”

“Chelsea, they were not born, they were manufactured. Their memories are not their own, they are what we hate. Technology that will end up destroying humanity as we know it. They are not people.” Danse told her, 

Chelsea went silent. She looked away from him. “...Are they?” She said quietly, 

Danse perked up at that. “What?” He said, 

She faced him again, this time looking sad. “Are they really not people?” She said again, 

“No, they were made in a lab therefore they aren’t human.” Danse replied, “Like I said, they are weapons that need to be confiscated or destroyed.” 

“...You don’t know that…” Chelsea said back, “Have you ever even known a synth? Like, REALLY known them?” 

It was now Danse’s turn to be silent. She had him there. 

“Look Danse, I saw a lot of synths when I worked for “The Railroad”, and I mean A LOT of synths. Each and every one of them showed human emotions. In their eyes, I saw fear, courage, despair, hope, hate, even love, they showed it all. They may had not been born into this world, but they are still dreaming, breathing, feeling, living PEOPLE. Think about that…” She finished, 

Danse was no longer looking at her, instead he was looking down at the ground area below them. He actually looked lost in thought. 

But then Chelsea decided to change the subject. “So, what happened to Cutler?” 

Danse’s face darkened a little as he looked back on the memory of what happened to his friend. 

“...About a year after we were stationed on “The Prydwen”, Cutler and his team went missing. It took me a couple of weeks but I finally managed to convince my CO to send out a search team for them…” 

Chelsea’s face only grew concerned. “I don’t like where this is going, Danse…” She said, 

Danse took a shaky breath. “...They finally traced their location to a Super Mutant hive…” 

Chelsea cupped her hand over her mouth. “Oh Danse, he was killed by Super Mutants?” 

“No, that was the way he should’ve gone. They killed everyone but Cutler. Instead, they infected him with the FEV virus and made him into….one of them…” His eyes began to tear up. “I had no choice...I had to...I had to…”

Chelsea put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say anymore.” He put his hand over hers and then looked her sadly in the eyes. “I just don’t want to ever go through that again…” 

Chelsea just frowned. She didn’t like seeing him so broken up. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. 

She wrapped her arms around his midsection and rested her head on his right shoulder. She held him tight not once pulling back. Danse was taken aback by this gesture. But in his current state, he didn’t want to push her away or back up. Instead he just let her hold him. 

“I can promise you one thing...I’m not going anywhere…” She told him, 

The Railroad Agent then felt his arms wrap around her as well in a tight embrace. She blushed a little as they stayed like that for while. It was then that they both realized, that maybe the other wasn’t so bad after all.


	28. Chapter 28: Mission Complete

A few weeks went by until the glorious day finally came. 

The Signal Interceptor was finally built and Nora had a way to “The Institute”. 

A large group of Brotherhood soldiers were gathering around the teleporter clapping and cheering for this triumph. This teleporter alone could crack the Institute’s whole operation wide open. 

The now famed “Soul Survivor” stood in front of the large machine. It was powered up and flashing blue light everywhere as it hummed loudly. She took a deep breath, she only had one shot at this. 

Chelsea and Scribe Haylen walked up to her. 

“Nora? You okay?” Haylen asked her, 

The brunette suddenly felt really scared. She thought this was going to be easy, but now, seeing how ominous the machine looked she wasn't sure that this was a good idea. 

“Nora?” Haylen repeated knowing that the woman was not responding. 

She turned to them. “Yeah, I'm fine. I'm about to allow a machine basically take me apart and put me back together again. Oh yeah! I'm doing great.” She said nervously, 

“Nora, are you sure? You look like you're about to faint.” Haylen pointed out, 

“Or toss your cookies.” Chelsea added, she then put her hand on Nora’s shoulder. “Listen, I really hope you find your son…” She told her, 

While talking in the police station one night a week or two prior, Nora confided in Chelsea about building the interceptor and her reason for building it. The Railroad Agent felt sympathy for what happened to her husband, Nate, and what happened to her son, Shaun. She only wished the best for Nora and she hoped that she would get him back. 

Nora began to shake in fright. Proctor Ingram walked up to the group and smiled at the two Scribes. “She's fine, she just has a few last minute jitters,” Ingram explained to them, “She’ll feel a lot better once this is all done and over with.” She then led the Vault dweller over to the Signal Interceptor. 

“Don't worry, Nora! We're all rooting for you!” Chelsea assured her, 

Ingram helped Nora up onto the platform. She looked around at the crowd that was still cheering for her. Ingram checked the readings on the console. 

“All the readings are green! We're ready to go!” She turned back to Nora, “By the way, I thought that his would be a great opportunity to learn as much as we can about “The Institute” and what they're up to. Here, take this holotape and network scan their mainframe…” She handed Nora the holotape and did one last check. 

Chelsea and Haylen could only stand there and watch as Nora was being prepped for teleportation. Danse came up behind them in power armor and watched her too. 

“She's a brave soldier.” Was all he said, Chelsea looked up at him and then back at Nora. Elder Maxson had finished saying something to her and Ingram finally flipped the switch. There was a blast of blinding blue light causing everyone to shield their eyes. 

When the light died down, they all looked to see the Signal Interceptor was completely fried and the platform was empty. 

Just like that, Nora was gone. 

The crowd cheered again and almost instantly dispersed. 

Chelsea turned to the Paladin and the Scribe looking nervous. 

“Uh, if you guys’ll excuse me, I have some stuff to do.” She said, 

Haylen smiled and quirked an eyebrow. “Some stuff”, huh? Very specific.” She said sarcastically, 

The raven-haired woman laughed, she was flattered that her sarcasm had managed to rub off onto Haylen. “Yeah, on “The Prydwen”. 

“Okay,” Haylen smiled, “I'll see you back at the station.” 

Chelsea snuck her way through the crowd and managed to convince a vertibird that she had some important business to handle on “The Prydwen”. They brought her up there and when she got off, made an immediate dash for the main deck. The airship was pretty deserted. The Railroad Agent knew that it was because most of the soldiers were still down at the airport for Nora’s teleportation. It was the perfect day to get the info on The Brotherhood. During a time when anyone was barely around. 

She entered Proctor Quinlan’s empty office. She looked around making sure no one was in there and ran over to the terminal and began typing at it. 

“Great, it’s still unlocked.” She said to herself, she reached into her pouch and pulled out the empty holotape that she was given. 

She stared down at it. This was it, this little holotape was about to make a huge difference. 

“...Come on, Chels...it's now or never…” She encouraged herself, taking a deep breath, Chelsea inserted the holotape into the terminal and selected the option on the computer screen to copy the data onto the holotape. 

When the scanning was complete, she ejected the holotape and pocketed it and fled the room. Some of the soldiers were back up on the airship again so she tried to not look too suspicious. 

“Mission complete…” She said happily, 

When she got back to the police station, she worked on another vertibird that needed repairs. After awhile of working she excused herself for a few minutes to use the bathroom. She headed inside the station and went to the female bathroom and sat down in one of the stalls. She pulled out what looked like a small communicator, kind of like a walkie talkie. She turned a few of the knobs and heard nothing but static. After a minute she heard a familiar male voice on the other side of the line. 

“Hello? Someone there?” The voice said, 

Chelsea instantly recognized the voice as Tinker Tom’s. “Tom? It’s “Shadow”.” 

“Chelsea! Boy am I glad to hear your voice!” Tinker Tom exclaimed, “Do you have the holotape?” He asked her, 

Chelsea smiled proudly. “I have managed to hack the Proctor’s terminal and copied all of the information about “The Brotherhood of Steel” on the holotape. I’m on standby awaiting the agent that will come and pick it up.” She said, 

“Oh yeah, about that, Chels...We did some scouting and there's been a change in plans…” Tom said nervously, 

“...What “change in plans”?” Chelsea asked him,

“Dez says we can't go down with the original transfer. There's too many soldiers around that it would be risky. You'll have to bring the holotape back to headquarters personally now.” Tinker Tom explained to her, 

Chelsea groaned. “But that’s going to be a whole lot harder! I can barely get away from these people for a bathroom break let alone a whole transfer!” 

“I'm sorry, Chelsea...but it's the only way now…” Tom apologized, 

The raven-haired woman sighed rubbing her entire face with her hand. She felt a migraine coming on.

“Okay, whatever, I...I’ll do my best…“Shadow” out.” She then turned the knobs again and the walkie talkie like device turned off. The Railroad Agent sighed and left the bathroom to return to her duties. However, as she opened the door, she instantly collided with a suit of power armor. Chelsea landed hard on her bottom. She looked up to see the person in the armor only to see that it was Danse. 

“Oh, Chelsea. I’m sorry, I didn't see you there.” He apologized, he reached out his hand to her and helped her up. 

“No, it's fine, Danse. It’s just, I’m a little irritable right now…” She assured him, 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was just looking for you.” Danse told her, 

Chelsea blinked once in surprise. “You were?” 

“Yes. I uh...I wanted to apologize to you…” Danse said nervously, 

“Apologize? For what?” Chelsea asked him, 

“Well, when you first joined The Brotherhood, I didn't want to give you a chance. I still saw you as the enemy and now I feel ashamed for that…” He smiled at her, “You're not like other soldiers, Chels...you’re honest, noble, brave...a good companion...and I just want to say, that I'm very glad that you're on our team.” 

Chelsea was taken aback by this. She just stared at him as he smiled at her. Once again his smile made her blush, but this time her heart also skipped a beat and she went a little weak in the knees. She felt even more nervous when she noticed that Danse was blushing a little too. 

He cleared his throat. “Well then, I guess I’d better get back to my duties…” He then headed out of the front doors to the police station. 

Chelsea smiled even after he left the building. She was so busy staring at him that she didn't notice Scribe Haylen walk up to her. She saw the whole thing, a playful smirk was on her face. She looked to Chelsea slyly. 

“So, you finally won Danse’s approval, huh?” She said teasingly, 

Chelsea kept her eyes locked on the doors and her smile didn't fade. “Yeah. It would seem so…” 

“You've really grown fond of Danse, haven't you?” Haylen said still teasing her, 

Her blush deepened a little. “...I guess…” She replied, 

“Robyn, am I detecting a little crush on your CO?” Haylen asked, 

Chelsea instantly snapped out of it when she heard those words. She looked at the Scribe wide-eyed and her face was as red as a tato. 

“What!? Who!? Me and Danse!? No! Never! I...I could never be with someone like him.” The Railroad Agent was flustered, she didn't know what to say. 

“Why not?” Haylen asked her,

“It just...it just wouldn't work, okay?” Chelsea said, she was now beyond embarrassed. She faced away from the beautiful Scribe covering her face with her hand to hide the blush. 

“Robyn, Danse is such a great guy! He seems perfect for you!” “How could it not work?” 

‘You mean besides the fact that we're from two enemy factions?’ Chelsea thought, it was pretty obvious that whom they sided with was the main thing that could stand in between a relationship if they had one. But it's not just that, their personalities just didn't quite match. He was so serious and in love with his position in The Brotherhood, while she was too sarcastic and joking. They were polar opposites. 

“Don't worry, Robyn. You don't have to be ashamed of having feelings for him…” Haylen said putting a hand on her shoulder, 

“But I don't have feelings for him.” Chelsea rebutted, 

“Whatever you say.” Haylen said in a singsong voice, she then walked off to go back to her duties. Chelsea smiled and shook her head at her as she watched her go. 

But then that smile faded. She suddenly felt this awful feeling beginning to gnaw at her stomach. 

“Could I be into him? No, never, I couldn't. We have very different views of the world. Even if I did it would never work out.” She thought to herself, “But then again, he's really nice and kinda handsome and-No No No! I am not falling for those eyes or that voice...or that smile…”

Then there was another bad feeling. 

“He thinks I'm honest. Oh no…” She groaned burying her face in her hands. Could it be that she was feeling…

...guilt…?

“No, no I have nothing to feel guilty about.” Chelsea told herself, “They're the enemy, and I was assigned a mission for “The Railroad” and dammit I'm going to complete it or die trying.” 

A few hours later, Nora returned to the police station. She entered the building looking rather shaken up. 

Chelsea noticed the Knight’s presence and smiled instantly upon seeing her. 

“Nora! You're back!” It was then that she noticed that Nora was upset. The Vault dweller looked as if she saw a ghost. 

“Nora? Are you okay? What happened?” Chelsea asked her, 

“...My son is leader of “The Institute”...” Was all Nora said, 

The raven-haired woman’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh...I'm so sorry, Nora. Is there anything I can-?” 

“Thanks, Chelsea, but...I just want to be alone right now…” Nora said cutting her off, 

“...If that's what you want…” Chelsea replied, Nora then headed up to the roof of the police station. Chelsea only assumed that she wanted to be alone. She could understand why. She had endured so much, made so many sacrifices and risked her life to rescue her son, only to find that it was all for nothing. 

She felt really bad for her. 

Later on that night, Danse came back into the station. His shift was over and a Knight took his place as lookout. 

He sighed tiredly as he got out of his power armor and prepared for bed. He looked around the quiet station at all of his fellow soldiers sleeping soundly. He then looked over at one particular sleeping bag. 

Chelsea’s. 

It was empty. 

This confused him, normally she would be in bed at this time. But his confusion disappeared when he heard the sound of liquid hitting something. He looked over at the front counter where a hot plate was in and heating up water in an old kettle. Standing at the counter was Chelsea. 

“Chelsea? What are you doing up?” Danse asked her confused, 

The Scribe removed the kettle from the hot plate and poured the hot water into two mugs containing chocolate powder. “I was waiting for you…” She replied, 

“What are you making?” He asked her, 

“Hot chocolate. My favorite. Probably better than coffee…” She replied, “Want some?” 

Danse nodded as he walked over to the counter. “Sure.” 

Chelsea slid one of the mugs across the counter to him and he caught it. 

“Nice catch.” Chelsea complimented, 

Danse smiled proud, “Thank you, all that training really built up my reflexes.” He said back, 

Chelsea chuckled as she picked up her mug and took a polite sip from it. 

Danse took a drink from his too. “So, why were you waiting up for me?” 

“I thought about what you said earlier, and I never got the chance to say anything.” She replied, 

“Okay, what do you want to say?” He asked, 

“I just want to say that I’m really flattered that you like having me here. I actually like being here. Everyone is so nice. Scribe Haylen is most likely one of the nicest people I've ever met, even though I don't know her that well, I like Proctor Ingram. We're both sarcastic so we have pretty fun conversations when we have the chance, even Rhys. He may be a little serious but lately we've been getting along better...then of course there’s you…” She looked up at him smiling. He smiled back. “Plus, it's really cool that I get to see “The Brotherhood of Steel” up close and in person. This was not what I was expecting when I signed up for this.” 

“I'm glad you enjoy being here.” Danse told her, 

“...I actually really do…” Chelsea smiled, 

There was an awkward silence as they finished their hot chocolate. Finally Chelsea spoke up. 

“Well, it's getting late. I should uh, probably head to bed.” Chelsea said nervously, 

Danse nodded as he set his now empty mug on the counter. “Right, we probably should.” 

“Yeah...well, goodnight…” Chelsea blushed, 

“Goodnight.” Danse replied, 

Then Chelsea surprised him. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. But this wasn't what caught him off guard. What surprised him was the kiss that she then planted on his cheek. His eyes widened as she back up. He stared at her slightly in shock and she just giggled. 

“...Night Danse…” 

The raven-haired woman's headed over to her sleeping bag, unzipped it, and climbed in. 

Danse began to put the mugs in a bin of dishes that were to be washed later. When he turned back around to take one more look at Chelsea, he was surprised to see that she was already sound asleep in her bag, a blissful smile across her face and hugging her pillow as she slept. The Paladin couldn't help but notice that she looked really sweet when she slept. 

“Heh, she looks kind of cute…” He said to himself, but then he caught himself saying that. “Wait a minute, why did I say that? What's wrong with me?” He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. “I must be really exhausted, I'm not thinking straight.” He headed to the next room where a few normal beds were set up. The only empty one was his. He laid down on the bed and attempted to fall asleep, but his mind was racing with thoughts about what he thought of Chelsea a few minutes ago. 

“It doesn't make any sense. Why would I think that about Chelsea?” He asked himself, and then there was the kiss that she gave him. That wasn't unnatural, he had been kissed on the cheek before. Haylen kissed him on the cheek once. This one wasn't any different. 

Danse didn't understand why he was feeling the way he was feeling about all this. Sure, he was fond of the Railroad Agent, but just in a friendly way, he could never have romantic feelings for her…

...Could he…?

“...”

“You're overthinking this, Danse,” Danse told himself, “Just sleep on it, tomorrow’s another day…”


	29. Chapter 29: "The Return of "The Silver Shroud""

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We see the return of "The Silver Shroud" 
> 
> Also MAJOR twist at the end

Two very familiar figures walked into “Goodneighbor”. They headed into “The Third Rail”. 

“Come on, Nora. I know exactly what will cheer you up. A good stiff drink.” MacCready told her, they went down the stairs and managed to snag two spots at the bar. 

“Whitey, get us two glasses of Scotch.” He said to the bartender, the Mr. Handy groaned as he prepared two glasses. He set them down in front of them. 

“There you go.” He said bitterly, then he floated away to tend to the other bar patrons. 

Both MacCready and Nora began to drink their Scotch. MacCready managed to down his entire glass in one go. 

“Oh yeah, that hits the spot.” He said setting the glass down, the mercenary looked over at the Vault dweller who sadly stared into her glass. She hadn't even touched her drink. 

“Hey listen, I'm really sorry about your son.” He apologized, 

Nora was still in shock. After she was relayed into “The Institute”, she instantly found out that her Shaun was no longer a baby, he wasn't even a kid anymore...he was a sixty year old man. To make matters worse, he was now the Director of “The Institute”. She couldn't believe that it was really him. This was not what she was hoping for. 

MacCready really felt bad for her, after she got back and explained what happened, he tried to do everything to make her feel better. She was his friend, he hated to see her so heartbroken. 

He put his hand on her shoulder in hopes of comforting her. “Just know that I'm here for you…” He told her, she looked up at him and smiled weakly. “Thanks RJ.” She thanked him, 

Just then if by sheer coincidence, two male drifters walked into the bar and sat at a table close to them. They were both male ghouls. 

“So, did you hear that the shroud struck again?” One of them asked, 

“No, I didn't hear that. Where?” The other one asked, 

“They went to some hospital and took out that guy that was giving Hancock trouble. Sinjin. They also managed to save Kent Connolly in the process. Isn't that something?” The first ghoul replied, 

Nora and MacCready overheard this. 

“Nora, you know what would make you feel better?” He asked her, 

Nora didn't reply. 

“We can continue our quest. To find out the identity of “The Silver Shroud”. It's a lot more fun now that Hancock hired us to solve the mystery. What makes it even more interesting now that there’s caps involved too.” He said gleaming, 

Nora smiled and rolled her eyes. “RJ, every job that pays caps is interesting to you.” 

“I know, but still…” MacCready shrugged, 

“If only they weren't always one step ahead of us.” Nora said, 

“Yeah, if only we knew where they were going to be…” MacCready sulked, 

Then Nora remembered something. She pulled out the calling card that she picked up from the first criminal that the shroud vanquished. 

Then the words that Kent said on the radio rung through her head. 

_“Tune into the radio station to learn more!”_

“That's it!” She yelled, 

“What’s it?” MacCready asked her confused, 

“If we wanna know where the shroud is going to be, we need to listen in on the radio station!” Nora explained, she lifted her wrist to show her Pipboy and turned the knob to the “Silver Shroud” radio station. After no less than a moment they heard Kent Connolly over the radio. 

_“I'm alive everybody! Yes you all thought I was dead, but I made it out alive thanks to my friend, “The Silver Shroud”! I'm also very happy to say that the shroud’s work is not done yet! There's a lot of crime that still needs to be stopped! Here's an update: there have been reports of a gang of Gunners taking over “Postal Square” just outside of “Goodneighbor”. You blasted mercenaries thinking you can lean in on territory near our town!? Never fear! The shroud will stop you!”_

Then the radio played static followed by the beginning of a “Silver Shroud” episode. 

Nora and MacCready looked at each other. “The shroud’s going to “Postal Square”! Let's go!” Nora said urgently, she slapped the caps they needed to pay for their drinks on the counter and the duo ran out of the bar as the other patrons looked on with confusion as to why they left in such a hurry. 

They ran out of “Goodneighbor” and headed Southeast for “Postal Square”. When they reached the shroud’s next possible location, they remained crouched behind large piles of rubble. There were Gunners everywhere along with a Brahmin and a Mr. Gutsy. They had to stay cautious. One slip up and they’d be dead. 

“Okay, here we are.” Nora whispered, 

“Where’s the shroud?” MacCready asked, 

“They should be here. Kent said they would be.” 

Just then, the duo noticed a familiar figure in black snuck into the square. A few of the Gunners that were there noticed the shroud’s presence. 

They raised their guns to the masked hero. “You! Who are you!?” One of the Gunners demanded, 

“Death comes for you, and I am its shroud!!!” The “Silver Shroud” told them, the female of mystery talked in a masculine voice as she impersonated the radio show character. 

Nora just watched while MacCready couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. 

“Forget this! Let's waste this fool!” One of the other Gunners yelled, they proceeded to start shooting as the shroud ducked behind the abandoned subway station entrance and shot at them with her silver submachine gun. The shootout lasted for about two minutes but ended when the shroud managed to take out two guys. She ran out into the open and saw that a few more Gunners were coming. What they didn't notice was that the shroud had a frag grenade behind her back. She pulled the pin and tossed it at the remainder of Gunners that were running in about to shoot her. She ran and ducked behind the Brahmin while the frag grenade exploded and killed the entire group in an instant. 

The shroud emerged from her hiding spot and dusted her hands off smiling under her bandana at her work. Buy the short moment of victory was instantly lost for she heard the sound of more footsteps as more gunners flooded in from the “Joe’s Spuckies” and other buildings nearby. 

The masked hero took the time to analyze the situation. As they closed in on her, she attempted to shoot them before they could get too close to her but was startled to find that her gun was out of ammo. She looked down and noticed a sword lying on one of the corpses. A mischievous grin came up on her face that was once again hidden by her bandana. 

“Well, look who’s tardy to the party!” She yelled out, they were getting closer to her. 

“Don't worry though...you're just in time to smash the piñatas!” In one quick move she grabbed the sword from off the corpse and charged towards them and ran through the small crowd of agitated Gunners managing to slice every one of them to the ground. Nora and MacCready just sat back watching in amazement at the shroud’s awesome sword fighting techniques. 

The shroud herself was so caught up in fighting two Gunners at the same time that she didn't notice one was sneaking up behind her with a Tire Iron ready to strike her in the head. 

Nora gasped. “Oh no!” She yelled in a whisper, 

“The Silver Shroud” struck her two foes down and then turned and noticed the man with the Tire Iron. She gasped. The shroud covered their face with their arms frightened as the man was about to strike. But as his arm was coming down, a bullet went straight through his head. The man then fell over and died. The female vigilante scrambled to her feet and looked around wondering where the bullet that saved her life came from. 

Nora was surprised herself. The Vault dweller then looked over and saw MacCready who had his Sniper Rifle out and aimed towards where the man was standing only moments before. 

“...That was you?” Nora whispered, 

The mercenary looked up at her and smirked proudly. 

“The Silver Shroud” was still looking around frantically, she was breathing heavily in and out. Then without a word, she took off running sword in hand. 

Nora noticed her run away. “There she goes!” She yelled pointing at her, MacCready turned and saw her running away. 

“Aww man! I can't believe we let her get away again!” MacCready whined, he kicked over a metal barrel in frustration as Nora put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“Relax, at least we have a strategy now. Well just follow the shroud everywhere they go.” She told him, 

“We did that before and it didn't work then either!” MacCready pointed out, 

“Yes. But we were here first. If we keep listening to the radio station, then we'll be able to find out her next location. Well just keep following her until we get her.” Nora replied, she straightened up and began to run in the same direction that the shroud went. The mercenary said nothing and followed behind. 

They tuned into the radio station again and found out that the shroud’s next likely location. Murkwater Construction Site which was overrun by Raiders. Like before, they managed to make it there before the shroud did. They remained hidden amongst the tall marsh grass and high water. 

“How much longer do we have to stay here, Nora!? My boots are soaked!” MacCready complained, 

“You'll live.” Nora told him, 

“Plus, isn't this the settlement spot that Preston wanted you to clear out a month ago?” MacCready asked her, 

Nora rolled her eyes annoyed at her friend’s whininess, “Stop, RJ.” 

Just then, the shroud showed up. 

The Raiders were startled by her appearance but then instantly raised their guns at her. 

“You! You girl! We're giving you one chance to get out of here!” One of the Raiders threatened, 

The shroud looked at them glaring through their sunglasses. She didn't say anything. 

“Hello!? Did you not hear me!? I said: “Get out of here”!” The same Raider threatened her again, 

The shroud still didn't reply. 

The group of Raiders cocked their guns and aimed her down ready to pull the trigger and shoot. 

“...Don't make me ask a third time…”

Then the shroud smirked mischievously. “Please, I eat Raiders like you for breakfast…” She told them, she no longer tried to sound like a guy but sounded just like a young woman. 

“It's on!” The Raider yelled, 

The shroud then pulled the same trick that she pulled on the Gunners and tossed a frag grenade at them. Nora and MacCready cringed as the grenade went off. They all blew up and their limbs went flying everywhere. 

Suddenly the ground began to shake. Out of the water popped up a Mirelurk Queen. It looked down and noticed the Vault dweller and the mercenary. 

Their eyes widened, they knew that they were in trouble. 

The Mirelurk Queen charged towards them about to strike when it felt something hot hit it in the back burning it slightly. It turned to see the shroud throwing Molotov Cocktail at it. It began to charge towards her and she looked to the duo. 

“Get out of here!” She yelled to them, 

“But what about you!?” Nora asked her, 

“Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Just go!” The shroud yelled, both MacCready and Nora wasted no time and got out of the swamp area. The shroud continued to throw Molotov Cocktail at it all the while running away. The large Crustacean spat out some of her venom, but the shroud managed to escape without any harm done to her body. 

Nora and MacCready entered “Goodneighbor” exhausted from running. 

MacCready sighed. “Nora, I’m starting to think this job isn't worth the caps.” 

Nora looked at him surprised. “Not worth the caps? That doesn't sound like you, RJ.” She replied, 

“Sorry Nora, but that was too close of a call. This is stupid! Why are we risking our lives for this!? We're never going to catch the shroud! It doesn't matter whether or not we know where the shroud will strike next! Nora, this is impossible...we can't catch “The Silver Shroud”...” MacCready told her, “Let’s just go home…” He headed for the exit of “Goodneighbor” and Nora followed without question. 

MacCready was back in Sanctuary sitting on the roof of the yellow house again. A bottle of Bourbon was in his hand and his old green hat rested at his side. He stared up at the night sky thinking. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Nora come up onto the roof as well. 

“Hey you.” She said, he looked at her sadly. “Hey Nora.” He said, 

“What’cha doing up here?” She asked him, 

The mercenary shrugged. “Nothing. Just thinking.” 

“...You're thinking about Juliet again, aren't you?” Nora said, 

MacCready felt his heart break at the mention of Juliet’s name. It had been at least a month since he lost her. He still missed her a lot and now his new feelings for her just made the situation worse. He was starting to show improvement as the days went on, but it was obvious that he was still having a hard time getting over it. 

“I know how you feel...it's nights like this that I think about my Nate...god I miss him…” Nora said, 

“I'm really sorry.” MacCready apologized, 

“Don't worry, I’m okay. I just gotta keep moving.” Nora said trying to smile, 

MacCready smiled weakly but that smile instantly disappeared from his face. He sighed. “It would've been cool to find out the shroud’s identity. Juliet would have loved to have known it.” 

“I'm sorry.” Nora apologized, 

“I wish you could have known her. She really was a special person. Besides Lucy, she was my best friend. I remember all the good times we had together, her and I, both the good and the bad. Juliet was also probably the most persistent person I've ever met. She was always so determined and positive about a situation. She never seemed to run out of second chances, when I screwed up she was always on my side, she was there for me…” He sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Juliet’s silver locket. 

“...If only I could’ve been for her…” 

Nora put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and she smiled. “She sounds wonderful…” 

He smiled back at her and they shared a nice hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they climbed down from the roof. Dogmeat walked up to Nora happy to see his mistress. 

“Do you think you'll be okay, RJ?” Nora asked him, 

MacCready put on a weak smile and nodded, “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay...Thanks Nora.” 

Dogmeat looked at the Vault dweller and the mercenary and took a particular interest in the silver locket that was still in MacCready’s hand. He sniffed it and suddenly went off. His ears perked up and he suddenly looked really alert. 

Both Nora and MacCready took notice of the dog’s strange behavior. 

“What's wrong with Dogmeat?” MacCready asked Nora, 

“I don't know, he's never acted like this before.” Nora replied, 

Just then Dogmeat ran over towards Nora’s old house. The duo followed him to the backyard where Dogmeat started to bark. He then began sniffing around the backyard while they just watched him in confusion. 

“Dogmeat. What's wrong, boy?” Nora asked the dog concerned, the German Shepherd headed towards the other end of the yard and gave another loud bark. They walked over to them still not understanding what the dog was trying to tell them. 

“Nora, this is getting weird.” MacCready told her, 

“Dogmeat, what are you trying to tell us?” Nora asked the dog, 

Dogmeat then trotted over to MacCready and nudged the hand that still held the locket in it. MacCready lifted his hand and looked at the locket. He looked back at the dog. “Dogmeat, we’re not following.” He said shaking his head, Dogmeat then jumped up and snatched the locket from the mercenary’s hand. 

“Hey!” MacCready yelled, 

Then Dogmeat walked over to the spot where he was before wagging his tail with the chain of the locket hanging in his teeth. 

Suddenly Nora understood what he meant. She walked over to him and bent down beside the German Shepherd. He dropped the locket into her hand and she looked to her mercenary friend. 

“RJ, he must've detected a scent that was similar to the one on Juliet’s locket.” She said, “Whatever brought the scent, must have been here recently.” 

“But that’s impossible. No one else could have Juliet’s scent! How could he smell Juliet’s scent here?” MacCready said confused, “She’s dead.” 

Then Nora’s eyes widened. She looked at MacCready surprised. “...RJ...do you know what this means…?” 

MacCready just stared at her confused for a moment. Until he suddenly realized it too. 

The look on her face said it all. 

MacCready’s eyes widened and he felt his heartbeat speed up. 

“......Juliet’s alive…? But that doesn't make any sense. She's dead, that Caravan Dealer told me so himself.” 

“RJ, are you seriously going to believe what some random Caravan Dealer said?” Nora said putting her hands on her hips. “The whole thing was probably staged. Juliet’s alive, I know it.” 

MacCready folded his arms across his chest. “Prove it.” He said seriously, 

“Alright, I will! I can have Dogmeat track her scent with this!” She showed him the locket. 

MacCready felt like Nora was really insulting his intelligence now. “Right. You really think Dogmeat can track her down?” 

“Sure, he did with Kellogg.” Nora replied, she then bent down and allowed Dogmeat to sniff the locket again. Once he got a good sniff, the German Shepherd went crazy again and began running more East. Nora and MacCready looked at each other and proceeded to follow him. 

They followed Dogmeat through the Wasteland until he finally stopped at a particular town. Both humans were confused yet again. They entered the town with Dogmeat. 

““Goodneighbor”? Why did he bring us here?” Nora asked him, 

Suddenly they heard a scream coming from the town square. They ran to investigate. There they saw a crowd gasping and pointing at one familiar figure. 

“The Silver Shroud”. 

The Shroud stood there tall and proud while everyone gawked. Nora and MacCready stared at her as well. Finally the shroud began to speak. They no longer tried to sound masculine, they spoke in their normal female voice. 

““Goodneighbor”! Yes it is I, “The Silver Shroud”! It has been a great honor and privilege to keep crime off these streets, and I can promise you that there is more god to come! It doesn't stop here! I can promise you, that justice will remain in “Goodneighbor” for a long time!” She said, 

Everyone cheered and clapped for the shroud. 

MacCready looked at her oddly. That voice sounded kind of familiar…

...Kind of like…

Then it hit him. Everything started to fall into place. Juliet’s “death”, the sudden appearance of the shroud, the fact that the shroud didn't want her identity revealed. 

...The fact that “The Silver Shroud” was Juliet’s favorite radio show growing up…

He pushed through the crowd trying to get to the shroud. When he finally reached the front. He spoke up. “Hey! You!” He yelled, 

The shroud noticed him and then instantly took off running yet again. 

Nora ran up to MacCready. “RJ, what's going on!?” She asked him, 

“I'm not letting her get away this time.” He said seriously, he took off running after the shroud. 

The shroud dashed down a few alleyways with MacCready hot on her heels. He gained on her and before she could get away, he tackled her and they fell to the ground wrestling. 

“WHO ARE YOU!?” He yelled at her, 

“Let go of me!” The shroud yelled back, 

Then suddenly the shroud’s hat and sunglasses suddenly fell off revealing blonde hair and dark blue eyes. 

MacCready’s eyes widened. His heart stopped. 

The shroud gave him a sad look and sighed. She pulled down her bandana and revealed the rest of her face. He recognized that face. 

“...Juliet…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY CRAP!!! Juliet's ALIVE!?!?!? And she's the shroud!?!?!? What will happen!? Find out next time


	30. Chapter 30: "Juliet's Back"

“...Juliet…?” 

The dirty blonde flashed a cheesy smile at the mercenary. “...Hey RJ…” She said,

“Is….Is it...really you?” MacCready asked her, 

Juliet smiled and nodded. “Yeah...It's really me…” 

“I can't believe it...you're alive, and you're the shroud.” He said still surprised, 

“Surprise.” Juliet said humorously, she laughed a little but MacCready wasn't laughing. He wasn't even smiling. Juliet took notice of this and her laughter died down. 

“What's wrong?” She asked him, 

“...What's wrong?...You're really going to ask me “what's wrong”!?” He yelled at her, Juliet was taken aback by his sudden outburst. 

“Jules, how could you do this!?!?!? How could you fake your own death!? Have you lost your mind!? Do you have ANY idea of what I went through!? I was a wreck without you! I started drinking more after I heard of your death! I mourned for you, my heart broke, and I thought my life ended for the first time since Lucy died! How could you do this to me!?” 

MacCready and Juliet stood up and Juliet held her hands up in defense. 

“RJ, please try to understand. I know what I did was crazy and it hurt you but I had my reasons.” She assured him, 

He glared at her. “Well they'd better be pretty damn good ones!” He snapped at her, 

Juliet was once again taken aback by his tone. “Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't think it would hurt you that bad!” She apologized, 

“You didn't think it would hurt me!? Jules, you're my best friend. OF COURSE it hurt me! I thought you were gone from my life forever! I thought that I had lost you!” MacCready yelled, 

“I said I was sorry,” Juliet said now raising her voice as well, “I knew that it was a bad idea to come here, to see you. I'm leaving.” She attempted to walk past him but he grabbed her arm before she could get away. 

“No you're not,” MacCready said strictly, “You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself.” 

“Let go of me!” Juliet yelled, 

“No!” MacCready rebutted, 

Juliet yanked her arm away from him and walked out of the alleyway into the town square with the mercenary following close behind. The crowd had long since dispersed and everyone was back to their old business. 

“Jules, can't you just tell me the reason for why you pulled a stunt like that and lied to me about it!? I'm your best friend, and I went through a hard time after you left! After what I went through, I think you at least owe me that!” 

She whirled around to face him. “I owe you nothing! Get out of here! I hate you! You've ruined everything!”

“I’VE ruined everything!? Says the girl that faked her own death and traveled to the Commonwealth and took on the persona of a fake superhero from our childhoods!” MacCready said sarcastically, 

“Who cares! Just leave me alone!” Juliet demanded, 

“No! I'm never letting you out of my sight again!” MacCready replied, 

Juliet was about to say something when they looked around and noticed that a few people were staring at them because of their argument. Even Nora who was leaning against one of the old warehouses pretending to not notice. 

Juliet then looked back at MacCready who was looking at her seriously. 

She growled and took his hand. “Come on.” She said, she began to drag them both towards “The Memory Den”. 

When they entered the building the dirty blonde dragged the mercenary towards Kent Connolly’s room. She grabbed the knob and slammed the door open causing Kent to jump in his seat. 

“Agh! Oh-uh! H-Hey M-Miss Juliet…” He stuttered nervously, 

“Get out, Kent. My friend and I need to talk.” Juliet told him seriously, 

“B-B-But…” Kent stuttered again, 

“OUT KENT!” She repeated now more demandingly, 

“Okay.” Kent instantly agreed, he sprung up from his seat and dashed out of the room slamming the door closed behind him. 

MacCready and Juliet just stood there in silence, neither of them facing or saying anything to one another. After a minute Juliet sighed and sat down on Kent’s bed. MacCready rubbed his face with his hand still trying to process the situation. Finally he turned to face his friend who was looking down at the floor as if she were ashamed of herself. 

“...Juliet...what happened? Please, you need to tell me...” He asked her, he needed to know the truth. 

Juliet sighed still not looking up to face him. “Fine. Let me start from the beginning…” 

_Juliet walked into “Lights of D.C” both happy and sad to be home. Happy because she was back, and sad because she had to leave Duncan behind._

_As she walked through the gates, Zip noticed her presence._

_“Juliet! You're back!” He yelled happily,_

_The mayor smiled the moment she laid her eyes on her still hyperactive friend. “Zip!” She yelled back, she ran to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Zip hugged her back._

_After a minute they pulled away. “You've been gone for a while. What happened?” He asked her, “Is Duncan okay?”_

_“Yeah, he's fine. RJ managed to get the cure for his illness and he's completely recovered.” Juliet answered smiling._

_Zip smiled and shook his head. “RJ...what a guy…”_

_“I know.” Juliet said blushing a little at the thought of the mercenary, but she instantly snapped out of it._

_Zip playfully offered her his arm. “Come on, madame mayor. Let's tell the others that you're back.” He told her,_

_She giggled playfully linking her arm in his. “Okay, let’s go then.”_

_They began to walk through the settlement together. “So, uh, anything happen while I was gone?” Juliet asked him,_

_“Not really. Just the usual same ‘ol same ‘ol.” Zip replied,_

_“Have the scouts that I sent out before I left returned yet?” Juliet asked him, before leaving for MacCready’s settlement, Juliet sent out three teams of scouts to go search for new territory for them to inhabit._

_“No, not yet. But they should be soon.” Zip replied, “But don't worry about that, what really matters is that you're home.”_

_They walked through “Lights of D.C”. Other settlers noticed that she was back and was glad that their leader had returned. Finally they reached Penny’s tent where they were all standing around boredly while Penny was seated on a stool sewing up a shirt._

_Zip beamed, “Guuuyyyysss! Guess who’s baaaaccckkk!?” He said in a singsong voice,_

_Everyone looked up and their eyes widened at the sight of Juliet._

_“Juliet! You're back!” Sammy said amazed,  
“Yeah, where have you been!?” Squirrel added on, _

_“We thought you were dead or something! I was about ready to take your place as mayor!” Princess commented,_

_Squirrel looked at the rather buff woman with a deadpan look. “Yeah...anyway...we’re glad that you're back, Juliet.”_

_The very dirty blonde chuckled and replied, “I'm fine, guys, really. I'm sorry that I came back so late. Duncan’s recovery took a little longer than expected.”_

_“Oh the poor thing. How’s he doing?” Penny said stopping her sewing for a minute,_

_“Trust me, he’s doing a lot better than he did before. When I first arrived he honestly looked like he was going to die. I felt so bad for him.” Juliet said sighing, the image of what Duncan looked like when she saw him was still vivid and strong in her memory. Even though he was better, her heart still broke every time she thought about it._

_“Thankfully RJ got the cure to save him.” Zip commented,_

_“Yeah, now that's love and dedication.” Penny nodded,_

_“You know what's funny? I never thought RJ would have it in him to become a father,” Princess said, “Sure, when he was a kid it made sense, but even though he's grown up, I still see him as the same boy who punched me in the nose.” The red and brown haired girl chuckled looking back on that memory._

_But then Will walked up and saw his wife._

_“Juliet.” He said,_

_Juliet looked at her husband and smiled. “Oh, hey Will.”_

_“I heard about Duncan. I'm glad that he's better.” Will said generously,_

_Juliet nodded, “Me too.”_

_He then grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. “...I really missed you while you were gone…” He told her seductively,_

_She smiled and blushed. “I missed you too.” Then they kissed in front of the others._

_“Guys, do you really have to do that in front of us?” Squirrel whined,_

_The couple broke off and looked at the blacksmith._

_“Jealous?” Will joked with him,_

_Juliet giggled again and they shared another kiss. When she pulled away, she looked Will in the eyes. “So, honey, how have the defenses been holding up? She asked him,_

_Will smiled proudly, “They've been holding up great.” He told her,_

_“That’s because I picked the right person for that job.” Juliet said flirtatiously,_

_“Nah, they’ve made it great without my help...But I appreciate the comment, babe.” Will winked, he kissed her again and then pulled the blonde into a hug not noticing her sad look that she showed behind his back._

_About an hour later a small caravan rode into “Lights of D.C”. They claimed that they were searching for a settlement to trade and deal with and see if there were any potential buyers. Of course, Will and settlement security had to inspect them to make sure that they weren't really intruders. The caravan passed the test, they were clean, they were allowed to go in. Once they were let inside they were instantly greeted by Penny. guided them towards Juliet’s tent._

_“If you want to do trading here, then you should probably get permission first from Mayor Juliet. Don't worry, she's really nice, I'm sure she'll be thrilled that traders are here…”_

_They approached the mayor’s tent and opened the flaps and entered. Juliet was playing fetch with Sunny who was now a beautiful and playful four year old Australian Shepherd Golden Retriever Mix. Juliet tossed Sunny the rubber ball and Sunny chased it down and brought it back to her._

_“Good girl, Sunny! Who's my good girl!? Who's my good girl!?” Juliet gushed as she hugged her dog tightly. In response, Sunny licked Juliet on the cheek. After a minute she noticed Penny and the strange Caravan Dealer._

_“Penny, who's this?” She asked standing up,_

_“This guy runs a caravan that just came into town. He was wondering if he could do some trading here.” Penny explained,_

_“Yeah, and we've had it rough out there in the Wasteland. We saw your settlement and hoped that we could also stay here for awhile and rejuvenate.” The man explained,_

_The fair mayor smiled. “Oh, uh, yes, of course. Stay as long as you need. We’ll fix up some beds for you and your guards and put your Brahmin with the others near the feeding trough. You can also feel free to trade with us. It's not often that a caravan runs through here…”_

_The man laughed. “Haha yeah, I assume that you’re hard to find?” He asked her,_

_“Well, we're almost always on the move so yeah.” Juliet replied, she then shook the man’s hand. “Welcome to “Lights of D.C”. I'm Juliet Weathers, the mayor of the settlement, and you are?”_

_The man smiled, “Pleasure. Name’s Gerald Keith. Nice doing business with you…”_

_Gerald and his guards were then shown to their tents and their Brahmin was put with the others just like Juliet said. After getting settled in, the mayor herself wanted to treat Gerald to a meal at Éclair’s tent. The adult cook managed to whip up a bowl of noodles for each of them. They sat at the bar eating away all the while talking and telling each other funny stories._

_“Thank you for the meal, Madame mayor. It's been awhile since I had good food like that.” He told her,_

_“You're welcome.” Juliet replied smiling,_

_“Yeah, sure it ain't like the grub in “Rivet City”, but it sure beats starving to death in “Paradise Falls”._

_Juliet stopped mid-bite as she felt her heart stop. The horrible memories of “Paradise Falls” flooded back into her mind. The memories of her and the others getting kidnapped, the memories of being locked in that cage, the memories of being saved by Albert before anything bad happened to them. It all came back._

_However, Juliet remained calm and polite. “What exactly were you doing in “Paradise Falls”?” She asked him,_

_Gerald took a swig of his beer before continuing. “...I was a slave...Must be two or three years ago now. I was in charge of mucking out the Brahmin stalls. Those slavers are horrible people, they'll enslave anybody just to make a few easy caps...They disgust me...” He finished with venom in his voice,_

_“...I see…” Juliet said, “So, what happened?”_

_“It wasn't easy, and it took me years, but I finally managed to escape.” Gerald explained, “Four slaves escaped that night. One being myself, another a pal of mine, and a middle-aged married couple that I worked with.”_

_“A married couple?” Juliet said intrigued,_

_“Yes, a couple about in their late forties or early fifties. Told me that they were captured shortly after they lost their daughter…”_

_This got Juliet's attention. A married couple? Middle-aged? and they lost a daughter?_

_‘...Mom and Dad…’ She thought to herself,_

_“Um. This married couple, could you describe them?” She asked,_

_Gerald looked at her oddly but he happily obliged. “They were about your height, the wife had hair about your color and emerald eyes. Her husband had dark blue eyes and golden blonde hair.” He explained,_

_On the inside, Juliet was getting more and more excited. This man could be the key to finding her parents!_

_“So, uh...did they ever mention how they lost their daughter?” Juliet asked,_

_‘This is it.’ She thought again,_

_Gerald’s smile faded. He sighed. “They didn't really like to talk about it. But...they said that they got separated from her in a feral attack.”_

_‘Bingo!’ Juliet thought,_

_“Can you tell me where they went!?” She asked in a too loud and rushed tone, Gerald was taken aback by her sudden outburst but she immediately calmed down so she could get the answers from him._

_“We fled up north to “The Commonwealth”. After that we parted ways. Not long after that I became a Caravan Dealer, and here we are.” He finished,_

_“The Commonwealth, huh? Then that’s where I need to go…” She mumbled to herself,_

_A few days later, Juliet was walking around the settlement doing recon and just checking things over. When out of the blue, Sammy and Squirrel came running up to her out of breath._

_“Juliet! Juliet!” They yelled, the female mayor took notice of their panic and turned to them worried._

_“Guys!? What’s wrong!?” She asked them,_

_“Its...Its the scouts...They're dead!” Sammy said,_

_Juliet's heart stopped._

_“What?” She asked him,_

_“They were killed, ma’am. By Raiders.” Sammy repeated for Squirrel,_

_The dirty blonde was in shock. “...No...it-it can't be…that's impossible…they're finally figuring out our patterns.” Now they know our next locations…”_

_“Should we send out more troops?” Squirrel asked her,_

_“No...if we send out more then they'll most likely kill them again...There’s only one other option...unfortunately it's the hardest one that we have…” Juliet turned to her guards._

_“We all need to separate. Spread a rumor that we were attacked and suffered a huge amount of casualties...we make those Raiders think that we're dead. Then here's the hard part…” She looked them in the eyes. “We all must go our separate ways…” He said,_

_Both men were shocked by this._

_“Juliet, surely there's something else that we can do!” Sammy yelled,_

_The dirty blonde shook her head. “I'm sorry, I know it seems like a coward’s way out, but it will help us survive…”_

_Juliet gave out the order and everyone immediately took action. The settlement was getting packed up and everyone was going their separate ways. Juliet had already said goodbye to her friends and promised to keep in touch. There was just one more person that she had to say goodbye to._

_Will was in his and Juliet’s tent checking his gun one more time to make sure that it was loaded and ready to go. He was so focused on packing that he didn't notice his wife come in._

_“Will.” She spoke up,_

_The handsome captain of the guards turned to her and smiled wide. He ran over to her to hug her._

_“Juliet! You ready to go? I'm almost ready, I just have a few more things left to pack.” He told her,_

_“Yeah, uh, Will...that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…” Juliet said nervously,_

_“I know what you're thinking: “Where can we go?” Well, lucky for us, I know a guy in Arefu that said we can have one of the vacant huts there. Finally, we can have a home of our own…just picture it, you and me! Weathers and Kenter! Taking on the Wasteland together!” He said proudly, it was then that he noticed his wife’s silence._

_“...What?” He said confused,_

_Juliet hesitated before speaking. Then she sadly looked to him. Will didn't like where this was going._

_“...Will...I'm not going with you…” She said,_

_The young man felt his heart crack a little. “Not coming? What do you mean?” He asked her,_

_Juliet sighed, “Well, one of the reasons I called this scatter was because…..I found out that my parents are somewhere in the Commonwealth...They’re alive, Will...I need to find them…” She explained, “Also...I’ve come to realize that I don't love you anymore...the magic’s no longer there...it's not you, it's me…I'm sorry…”_

_Will just stood there mouth agape. She was divorcing him? But then his face darkened._

_“.......You're in love with HIM...aren't you?” He said coldly,_

_The dirty blonde looked down in shame. “...Yes...I'm sorry…”_

_He stared at her angry and heartbroken for a moment. But then he surprisingly calmed down. He walked up to her and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand._

_“...I understand…” He said, “...So…this is the end of us…?”_

_Juliet looked like she was on the verge of tears, she hated doing this. It made her feel awful._

_“...I'm...afraid so...but just know this...you are a terrific man, Will Kenter, and any other woman you have will be lucky to have you…”_

_He smiled weakly. Juliet smiled too and gave him a kiss on the cheek then left the tent._

“So, I gave Gerald my locket and told him to bring it to you and tell you the rumor about us being attacked and me dying. Sunny and I made our way up to the Commonwealth where I met up with Chelsea and she suggested that I come here to “Goodneighbor”. She told me that it was a great place to lay low. She took Sunny so “The Railaroad” is taking care of her for the time being. So I came here and Irma, Amari, and Kent were nice enough to let me stay at “The Memory Den”. I work at “The extra Inning” in Diamond City to make caps for myself. Then I realized that Kent and I shared an interest in “The Silver Shroud”. He shared his idea of bringing “The Silver Shroud” to life and I told him it sounded great. Then he offered me the job of being the shroud and fighting crime on the streets...and I accepted...and here we are…”

Juliet finished telling her story while MacCready just listened. When she was done, he didn't say anything. After a minute, Juliet stood up from the bed to face him. 

“Once again, I’m really sorry that I hurt you. Now that I've explained myself, I hope you can understand why I did it…” She told him, 

MacCready didn't say anything. He was looking down at the floor. Juliet walked past him to leave the room but was startled when she felt him grab her hand. She turned to him again. 

“Why didn't you tell me the truth?” He asked her, 

Juliet hesitated but answered. “Well, I just figured that telling you would somehow get you into trouble. You've got so many pressures already, I didn't want to put more on you.” She explained, 

Then she was surprised when MacCready threw his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. She was taken aback but then slowly put her arms around him as well. She Could tell that he was now crying due to the fact that she heard his sobs. He pressed his cheek to hers and she could feel that it was wet from his tears. 

“Dammit, Jules! I really missed you! Don't do that again!” He cried, 

“...I promise.” She replied, 

After a minute, Juliet pulled away and looked at the mercenary as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He then actually smiled at her for the first time since he found her. 

“Come on, Jules...there's someone I want you to meet.” 

The two of them left “The Memory Den”. They walked over to Nora who had Dogmeat by her side. 

MacCready gestured to Juliet. “Nora, this is Juliet. Also known as: “The Silver Shroud”.” He smirked at her while the blonde rolled her eyes. 

Nora smiled. “So you're the famous Juliet that RJ keeps telling me about.” 

Juliet smiled and blushed from the flattery. “Yeah, that's me.” 

“Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Nora.” The Vault dweller then stuck out her hand and shook Juliet’s hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Nora.” Juliet beamed, “I have heard great things about you. It is an honor.” 

“RJ was right about you. You are a sweetheart.” She joked, 

Juliet looked over at MacCready who was blushing and she just giggled. 

“Well, now that we found your identity. We should formally introduce you to Mayor Hancock. He’d like to thank you personally.” Nora told her, 

Juliet nodded, “Let’s go then.” 

Hancock looked Juliet over thoroughly as she stood there unmasked in his office. After a minute he looked her in the eye. 

“So, you're the masked vigilante that's been putting out crime in my town?” He asked her, 

Juliet nodded, “Yes Mayor Hancock.” 

Then the ghoulish mayor smiled. “Then I guess I owe you a thank you. You have made my town a much safer place. You have my grattitude.” 

She nodded again. “It was my pleasure, sir.” 

“Hey, what's with all this “sir” nonsense!? Call me Hancock, we're all friends here!” Hancock told her, 

The dirty blonde smiled, “Okay. You're welcome...Hancock.” She winked, 

He winked back. “Feel free to come here and do chems with me anytime.” He said, 

“Uh...thanks.” Juliet said a little weirded out by that last statement, then MacCready grabbed her arm. 

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked her, he then proceeded to pull her out of the office and over by the door that lead to the state house’s balcony. 

Hancock then turned to Nora. “So, you've done another good job, Nora. A deal’s a deal. Here you go.” He dropped the caps into Nora’s hand. She then put them in her pouch for safe keeping. She smiled at the mayor of “Goodneighbor”. 

“All in a day’s work, Hancock.” She said, 

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Juliet asked MacCready, 

The mercenary sighed. “Nothin really, it's just...I'm really glad you're safe...Let's get out of here.” He told her eagerly, 

Juliet quirked an eyebrow. “Get out of here?” 

“Yeah. Come back to “Sanctuary” with me. Now that I've found you, you might as well stay somewhere better than here. “Goodneighbor” isn't really all that safe…” MacCready pointed out, 

“Yeah, I can tell from all the crime I've seen as the shroud.” Juliet said rolling her eyes, 

“Don't worry, Juliet. “Sanctuary”’s a really safe place. You'll love it. I'm sure Nora wouldn't mind if you came with us.” MacCready assured her, 

Juliet smiled nervously, “RJ...I don't know...I couldn’t…really…”

“Please Juliet...come back with me? I'd feel a lot better knowing that you're somewhere safe rather than somewhere dangerous…” He begged, 

Juliet then smiled sincerely. “Okay, RJ. I can't say no to you, if that'll make you happy, then let's go. Just let me grab my things.” 

Juliet grabbed the bag that she packed when she left D.C and thanked Irma, Amari, and Kent for letting her stay there. After a while, Nora exited Hancock’s office and met with the other two outside of the Old State House. When MacCready told Nora that Juliet was coming with them, she was thrilled and told the ex-mayor that she was more than welcome in “Sanctuary”. 

Together the three of them exited “Goodneighbor” and headed North for “Sanctuary”.


	31. Chapter 30: Juliet's Back

“...Juliet…?” 

The dirty blonde flashed a cheesy smile at the mercenary. “...Hey RJ…” She said,

“Is….Is it...really you?” MacCready asked her, 

Juliet smiled and nodded. “Yeah...It's really me…” 

“I can't believe it...you're alive, and you're the shroud.” He said still surprised, 

“Surprise.” Juliet said humorously, she laughed a little but MacCready wasn't laughing. He wasn't even smiling. Juliet took notice of this and her laughter died down. 

“What's wrong?” She asked him, 

“...What's wrong?...You're really going to ask me “what's wrong”!?” He yelled at her, Juliet was taken aback by his sudden outburst. 

“Jules, how could you do this!?!?!? How could you fake your own death!? Have you lost your mind!? Do you have ANY idea of what I went through!? I was a wreck without you! I started drinking more after I heard of your death! I mourned for you, my heart broke, and I thought my life ended for the first time since Lucy died! How could you do this to me!?” 

MacCready and Juliet stood up and Juliet held her hands up in defense. 

“RJ, please try to understand. I know what I did was crazy and it hurt you but I had my reasons.” She assured him, 

He glared at her. “Well they'd better be pretty damn good ones!” He snapped at her, 

Juliet was once again taken aback by his tone. “Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't think it would hurt you that bad!” She apologized, 

“You didn't think it would hurt me!? Jules, you're my best friend. OF COURSE it hurt me! I thought you were gone from my life forever! I thought that I had lost you!” MacCready yelled, 

“I said I was sorry,” Juliet said now raising her voice as well, “I knew that it was a bad idea to come here, to see you. I'm leaving.” She attempted to walk past him but he grabbed her arm before she could get away. 

“No you're not,” MacCready said strictly, “You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself.” 

“Let go of me!” Juliet yelled, 

“No!” MacCready rebutted, 

Juliet yanked her arm away from him and walked out of the alleyway into the town square with the mercenary following close behind. The crowd had long since dispersed and everyone was back to their old business. 

“Jules, can't you just tell me the reason for why you pulled a stunt like that and lied to me about it!? I'm your best friend, and I went through a hard time after you left! After what I went through, I think you at least owe me that!” 

She whirled around to face him. “I owe you nothing! Get out of here! I hate you! You've ruined everything!”

“I’VE ruined everything!? Says the girl that faked her own death and traveled to the Commonwealth and took on the persona of a fake superhero from our childhoods!” MacCready said sarcastically, 

“Who cares! Just leave me alone!” Juliet demanded, 

“No! I'm never letting you out of my sight again!” MacCready replied, 

Juliet was about to say something when they looked around and noticed that a few people were staring at them because of their argument. Even Nora who was leaning against one of the old warehouses pretending to not notice. 

Juliet then looked back at MacCready who was looking at her seriously. 

She growled and took his hand. “Come on.” She said, she began to drag them both towards “The Memory Den”. 

When they entered the building the dirty blonde dragged the mercenary towards Kent Connolly’s room. She grabbed the knob and slammed the door open causing Kent to jump in his seat. 

“Agh! Oh-uh! H-Hey M-Miss Juliet…” He stuttered nervously, 

“Get out, Kent. My friend and I need to talk.” Juliet told him seriously, 

“B-B-But…” Kent stuttered again, 

“OUT KENT!” She repeated now more demandingly, 

“Okay.” Kent instantly agreed, he sprung up from his seat and dashed out of the room slamming the door closed behind him. 

MacCready and Juliet just stood there in silence, neither of them facing or saying anything to one another. After a minute Juliet sighed and sat down on Kent’s bed. MacCready rubbed his face with his hand still trying to process the situation. Finally he turned to face his friend who was looking down at the floor as if she were ashamed of herself. 

“...Juliet...what happened? Please, you need to tell me...” He asked her, he needed to know the truth. 

Juliet sighed still not looking up to face him. “Fine. Let me start from the beginning…” 

_Juliet walked into “Lights of D.C” both happy and sad to be home. Happy because she was back, and sad because she had to leave Duncan behind._

_As she walked through the gates, Zip noticed her presence._

_“Juliet! You're back!” He yelled happily,_

_The mayor smiled the moment she laid her eyes on her still hyperactive friend. “Zip!” She yelled back, she ran to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Zip hugged her back._

_After a minute they pulled away. “You've been gone for a while. What happened?” He asked her, “Is Duncan okay?”_

_“Yeah, he's fine. RJ managed to get the cure for his illness and he's completely recovered.” Juliet answered smiling._

_Zip smiled and shook his head. “RJ...what a guy…”_

_“I know.” Juliet said blushing a little at the thought of the mercenary, but she instantly snapped out of it._

_Zip playfully offered her his arm. “Come on, madame mayor. Let's tell the others that you're back.” He told her,_

_She giggled playfully linking her arm in his. “Okay, let’s go then.”_

_They began to walk through the settlement together. “So, uh, anything happen while I was gone?” Juliet asked him,_

_“Not really. Just the usual same ‘ol same ‘ol.” Zip replied,_

_“Have the scouts that I sent out before I left returned yet?” Juliet asked him, before leaving for MacCready’s settlement, Juliet sent out three teams of scouts to go search for new territory for them to inhabit._

_“No, not yet. But they should be soon.” Zip replied, “But don't worry about that, what really matters is that you're home.”_

_They walked through “Lights of D.C”. Other settlers noticed that she was back and was glad that their leader had returned. Finally they reached Penny’s tent where they were all standing around boredly while Penny was seated on a stool sewing up a shirt._

_Zip beamed, “Guuuyyyysss! Guess who’s baaaaccckkk!?” He said in a singsong voice,_

_Everyone looked up and their eyes widened at the sight of Juliet._

_“Juliet! You're back!” Sammy said amazed,  
“Yeah, where have you been!?” Squirrel added on, _

_“We thought you were dead or something! I was about ready to take your place as mayor!” Princess commented,_

_Squirrel looked at the rather buff woman with a deadpan look. “Yeah...anyway...we’re glad that you're back, Juliet.”_

_The very dirty blonde chuckled and replied, “I'm fine, guys, really. I'm sorry that I came back so late. Duncan’s recovery took a little longer than expected.”_

_“Oh the poor thing. How’s he doing?” Penny said stopping her sewing for a minute,_

_“Trust me, he’s doing a lot better than he did before. When I first arrived he honestly looked like he was going to die. I felt so bad for him.” Juliet said sighing, the image of what Duncan looked like when she saw him was still vivid and strong in her memory. Even though he was better, her heart still broke every time she thought about it._

_“Thankfully RJ got the cure to save him.” Zip commented,_

_“Yeah, now that's love and dedication.” Penny nodded,_

_“You know what's funny? I never thought RJ would have it in him to become a father,” Princess said, “Sure, when he was a kid it made sense, but even though he's grown up, I still see him as the same boy who punched me in the nose.” The red and brown haired girl chuckled looking back on that memory._

_But then Will walked up and saw his wife._

_“Juliet.” He said,_

_Juliet looked at her husband and smiled. “Oh, hey Will.”_

_“I heard about Duncan. I'm glad that he's better.” Will said generously,_

_Juliet nodded, “Me too.”_

_He then grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. “...I really missed you while you were gone…” He told her seductively,_

_She smiled and blushed. “I missed you too.” Then they kissed in front of the others._

_“Guys, do you really have to do that in front of us?” Squirrel whined,_

_The couple broke off and looked at the blacksmith._

_“Jealous?” Will joked with him,_

_Juliet giggled again and they shared another kiss. When she pulled away, she looked Will in the eyes. “So, honey, how have the defenses been holding up? She asked him,_

_Will smiled proudly, “They've been holding up great.” He told her,_

_“That’s because I picked the right person for that job.” Juliet said flirtatiously,_

_“Nah, they’ve made it great without my help...But I appreciate the comment, babe.” Will winked, he kissed her again and then pulled the blonde into a hug not noticing her sad look that she showed behind his back._

_About an hour later a small caravan rode into “Lights of D.C”. They claimed that they were searching for a settlement to trade and deal with and see if there were any potential buyers. Of course, Will and settlement security had to inspect them to make sure that they weren't really intruders. The caravan passed the test, they were clean, they were allowed to go in. Once they were let inside they were instantly greeted by Penny. guided them towards Juliet’s tent._

_“If you want to do trading here, then you should probably get permission first from Mayor Juliet. Don't worry, she's really nice, I'm sure she'll be thrilled that traders are here…”_

_They approached the mayor’s tent and opened the flaps and entered. Juliet was playing fetch with Sunny who was now a beautiful and playful four year old Golden Retriever. Juliet tossed Sunny the rubber ball and Sunny chased it down and brought it back to her._

_“Good girl, Sunny! Who's my good girl!? Who's my good girl!?” Juliet gushed as she hugged her dog tightly. In response, Sunny licked Juliet on the cheek. After a minute she noticed Penny and the strange Caravan Dealer._

_“Penny, who's this?” She asked standing up,_

_“This guy runs a caravan that just came into town. He was wondering if he could do some trading here.” Penny explained,_

_“Yeah, and we've had it rough out there in the Wasteland. We saw your settlement and hoped that we could also stay here for awhile and rejuvenate.” The man explained,_

_The fair mayor smiled. “Oh, uh, yes, of course. Stay as long as you need. We’ll fix up some beds for you and your guards and put your Brahmin with the others near the feeding trough. You can also feel free to trade with us. It's not often that a caravan runs through here…”_

_The man laughed. “Haha yeah, I assume that you’re hard to find?” He asked her,_

_“Well, we're almost always on the move so yeah.” Juliet replied, she then shook the man’s hand. “Welcome to “Lights of D.C”. I'm Juliet Weathers, the mayor of the settlement, and you are?”_

_The man smiled, “Pleasure. Name’s Gerald Keith. Nice doing business with you…”_

_Gerald and his guards were then shown to their tents and their Brahmin was put with the others just like Juliet said. After getting settled in, the mayor herself wanted to treat Gerald to a meal at Éclair’s tent. The adult cook managed to whip up a bowl of noodles for each of them. They sat at the bar eating away all the while talking and telling each other funny stories._

_“Thank you for the meal, Madame mayor. It's been awhile since I had good food like that.” He told her,_

_“You're welcome.” Juliet replied smiling,_

_“Yeah, sure it ain't like the grub in “Rivet City”, but it sure beats starving to death in “Paradise Falls”._

_Juliet stopped mid-bite as she felt her heart stop. The horrible memories of “Paradise Falls” flooded back into her mind. The memories of her and the others getting kidnapped, the memories of being locked in that cage, the memories of being saved by Albert before anything bad happened to them. It all came back._

_However, Juliet remained calm and polite. “What exactly were you doing in “Paradise Falls”?” She asked him,_

_Gerald took a swig of his beer before continuing. “...I was a slave...Must be two or three years ago now. I was in charge of mucking out the Brahmin stalls. Those slavers are horrible people, they'll enslave anybody just to make a few easy caps...They disgust me...” He finished with venom in his voice,_

_“...I see…” Juliet said, “So, what happened?”_

_“It wasn't easy, and it took me years, but I finally managed to escape.” Gerald explained, “Four slaves escaped that night. One being myself, another a pal of mine, and a middle-aged married couple that I worked with.”_

_“A married couple?” Juliet said intrigued,_

_“Yes, a couple about in their late forties or early fifties. Told me that they were captured shortly after they lost their daughter…”_

_This got Juliet's attention. A married couple? Middle-aged? and they lost a daughter?_

_‘...Mom and Dad…’ She thought to herself,_

_“Um. This married couple, could you describe them?” She asked,_

_Gerald looked at her oddly but he happily obliged. “They were about your height, the wife had hair about your color and emerald eyes. Her husband had dark blue eyes and golden blonde hair.” He explained,_

_On the inside, Juliet was getting more and more excited. This man could be the key to finding her parents!_

_“So, uh...did they ever mention how they lost their daughter?” Juliet asked,_

_‘This is it.’ She thought again,_

_Gerald’s smile faded. He sighed. “They didn't really like to talk about it. But...they said that they got separated from her in a feral attack.”_

_‘Bingo!’ Juliet thought,_

_“Can you tell me where they went!?” She asked in a too loud and rushed tone, Gerald was taken aback by her sudden outburst but she immediately calmed down so she could get the answers from him._

_“We fled up north to “The Commonwealth”. After that we parted ways. Not long after that I became a Caravan Dealer, and here we are.” He finished,_

_“The Commonwealth, huh? Then that’s where I need to go…” She mumbled to herself,_

_A few days later, Juliet was walking around the settlement doing recon and just checking things over. When out of the blue, Sammy and Squirrel came running up to her out of breath._

_“Juliet! Juliet!” They yelled, the female mayor took notice of their panic and turned to them worried._

_“Guys!? What’s wrong!?” She asked them,_

_“Its...Its the scouts...They're dead!” Sammy said,_

_Juliet's heart stopped._

_“What?” She asked him,_

_“They were killed, ma’am. By Raiders.” Sammy repeated for Squirrel,_

_The dirty blonde was in shock. “...No...it-it can't be…that's impossible…they're finally figuring out our patterns.” Now they know our next locations…”_

_“Should we send out more troops?” Squirrel asked her,_

_“No...if we send out more then they'll most likely kill them again...There’s only one other option...unfortunately it's the hardest one that we have…” Juliet turned to her guards._

_“We all need to separate. Spread a rumor that we were attacked and suffered a huge amount of casualties...we make those Raiders think that we're dead. Then here's the hard part…” She looked them in the eyes. “We all must go our separate ways…” He said,_

_Both men were shocked by this._

_“Juliet, surely there's something else that we can do!” Sammy yelled,_

_The dirty blonde shook her head. “I'm sorry, I know it seems like a coward’s way out, but it will help us survive…”_

_Juliet gave out the order and everyone immediately took action. The settlement was getting packed up and everyone was going their separate ways. Juliet had already said goodbye to her friends and promised to keep in touch. There was just one more person that she had to say goodbye to._

_Will was in his and Juliet’s tent checking his gun one more time to make sure that it was loaded and ready to go. He was so focused on packing that he didn't notice his wife come in._

_“Will.” She spoke up,_

_The handsome captain of the guards turned to her and smiled wide. He ran over to her to hug her._

_“Juliet! You ready to go? I'm almost ready, I just have a few more things left to pack.” He told her,_

_“Yeah, uh, Will...that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…” Juliet said nervously,_

_“I know what you're thinking: “Where can we go?” Well, lucky for us, I know a guy in Arefu that said we can have one of the vacant huts there. Finally, we can have a home of our own…just picture it, you and me! Weathers and Kenter! Taking on the Wasteland together!” He said proudly, it was then that he noticed his wife’s silence._

_“...What?” He said confused,_

_Juliet hesitated before speaking. Then she sadly looked to him. Will didn't like where this was going._

_“...Will...I'm not going with you…” She said,_

_The young man felt his heart crack a little. “Not coming? What do you mean?” He asked her,_

_Juliet sighed, “Well, one of the reasons I called this scatter was because…..I found out that my parents are somewhere in the Commonwealth...They’re alive, Will...I need to find them…” She explained, “Also...I’ve come to realize that I don't love you anymore...the magic’s no longer there...it's not you, it's me…I'm sorry…”_

_Will just stood there mouth agape. She was divorcing him? But then his face darkened._

_“.......You're in love with HIM...aren't you?” He said coldly,_

_The dirty blonde looked down in shame. “...Yes...I'm sorry…”_

_He stared at her angry and heartbroken for a moment. But then he surprisingly calmed down. He walked up to her and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand._

_“...I understand…” He said, “...So…this is the end of us…?”_

_Juliet looked like she was on the verge of tears, she hated doing this. It made her feel awful._

_“...I'm...afraid so...but just know this...you are a terrific man, Will Kenter, and any other woman you have will be lucky to have you…”_

_He smiled weakly. Juliet smiled too and gave him a kiss on the cheek then left the tent._

“So, I gave Gerald my locket and told him to bring it to you and tell you the rumor about us being attacked and me dying. Sunny and I made our way up to the Commonwealth where I met up with Chelsea and she suggested that I come here to “Goodneighbor”. She told me that it was a great place to lay low. She took Sunny so “The Railaroad” is taking care of her for the time being. So I came here and Irma, Amari, and Kent were nice enough to let me stay at “The Memory Den”. I work at “The extra Inning” in Diamond City to make caps for myself. Then I realized that Kent and I shared an interest in “The Silver Shroud”. He shared his idea of bringing “The Silver Shroud” to life and I told him it sounded great. Then he offered me the job of being the shroud and fighting crime on the streets...and I accepted...and here we are…”

Juliet finished telling her story while MacCready just listened. When she was done, he didn't say anything. After a minute, Juliet stood up from the bed to face him. 

“Once again, I’m really sorry that I hurt you. Now that I've explained myself, I hope you can understand why I did it…” She told him, 

MacCready didn't say anything. He was looking down at the floor. Juliet walked past him to leave the room but was startled when she felt him grab her hand. She turned to him again. 

“Why didn't you tell me the truth?” He asked her, 

Juliet hesitated but answered. “Well, I just figured that telling you would somehow get you into trouble. You've got so many pressures already, I didn't want to put more on you.” She explained, 

Then she was surprised when MacCready threw his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. She was taken aback but then slowly put her arms around him as well. She Could tell that he was now crying due to the fact that she heard his sobs. He pressed his cheek to hers and she could feel that it was wet from his tears. 

“Dammit, Jules! I really missed you! Don't do that again!” He cried, 

“...I promise.” She replied, 

After a minute, Juliet pulled away and looked at the mercenary as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He then actually smiled at her for the first time since he found her. 

“Come on, Jules...there's someone I want you to meet.” 

The two of them left “The Memory Den”. They walked over to Nora who had Dogmeat by her side. 

MacCready gestured to Juliet. “Nora, this is Juliet. Also known as: “The Silver Shroud”.” He smirked at her while the blonde rolled her eyes. 

Nora smiled. “So you're the famous Juliet that RJ keeps telling me about.” 

Juliet smiled and blushed from the flattery. “Yeah, that's me.” 

“Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Nora.” The Vault dweller then stuck out her hand and shook Juliet’s hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Nora.” Juliet beamed, “I have heard great things about you. It is an honor.” 

“RJ was right about you. You are a sweetheart.” She joked, 

Juliet looked over at MacCready who was blushing and she just giggled. 

“Well, now that we found your identity. We should formally introduce you to Mayor Hancock. He’d like to thank you personally.” Nora told her, 

Juliet nodded, “Let’s go then.” 

Hancock looked Juliet over thoroughly as she stood there unmasked in his office. After a minute he looked her in the eye. 

“So, you're the masked vigilante that's been putting out crime in my town?” He asked her, 

Juliet nodded, “Yes Mayor Hancock.” 

Then the ghoulish mayor smiled. “Then I guess I owe you a thank you. You have made my town a much safer place. You have my grattitude.” 

She nodded again. “It was my pleasure, sir.” 

“Hey, what's with all this “sir” nonsense!? Call me Hancock, we're all friends here!” Hancock told her, 

The dirty blonde smiled, “Okay. You're welcome...Hancock.” She winked, 

He winked back. “Feel free to come here and do chems with me anytime.” He said, 

“Uh...thanks.” Juliet said a little weirded out by that last statement, then MacCready grabbed her arm. 

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked her, he then proceeded to pull her out of the office and over by the door that lead to the state house’s balcony. 

Hancock then turned to Nora. “So, you've done another good job, Nora. A deal’s a deal. Here you go.” He dropped the caps into Nora’s hand. She then put them in her pouch for safe keeping. She smiled at the mayor of “Goodneighbor”. 

“All in a day’s work, Hancock.” She said, 

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Juliet asked MacCready, 

The mercenary sighed. “Nothin really, it's just...I'm really glad you're safe...Let's get out of here.” He told her eagerly, 

Juliet quirked an eyebrow. “Get out of here?” 

“Yeah. Come back to “Sanctuary” with me. Now that I've found you, you might as well stay somewhere better than here. “Goodneighbor” isn't really all that safe…” MacCready pointed out, 

“Yeah, I can tell from all the crime I've seen as the shroud.” Juliet said rolling her eyes, 

“Don't worry, Juliet. “Sanctuary”’s a really safe place. You'll love it. I'm sure Nora wouldn't mind if you came with us.” MacCready assured her, 

Juliet smiled nervously, “RJ...I don't know...I couldn’t…really…”

“Please Juliet...come back with me? I'd feel a lot better knowing that you're somewhere safe rather than somewhere dangerous…” He begged, 

Juliet then smiled sincerely. “Okay, RJ. I can't say no to you, if that'll make you happy, then let's go. Just let me grab my things.” 

Juliet grabbed the bag that she packed when she left D.C and thanked Irma, Amari, and Kent for letting her stay there. After a while, Nora exited Hancock’s office and met with the other two outside of the Old State House. When MacCready told Nora that Juliet was coming with them, she was thrilled and told the ex-mayor that she was more than welcome in “Sanctuary”. 

Together the three of them exited “Goodneighbor” and headed North for “Sanctuary”.


	32. Chapter 31: New Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty basic chapter, and something really good happens at the end...FINALLY!!! XDDD

The now trio walked into “Sanctuary” through the large gates which were now also guarded by turrets. 

The Minutemen that were on guard duty, let Nora and MacCready in just fine, though they were a little untrustworthy of Juliet. But that wasn't too much of a problem because MacCready jumped in and vouched for her saying that she was with them and that they would show her trust and treat her with respect or else they'd have to answer to him. When this happened, he was rather harsh to the guards to say the least. Juliet was taken a bit aback by his attitude. He always defended her, but not to this degree. 

The threats seemed to work, however, as the Minuteman guards let the young blonde into the growing town. 

They headed through the settlement as Nora began to speak. 

"Okay, so this is “Sanctuary”. I used to live here back in its prime, but now it's becoming one of the Commonwealth’s biggest settlements...well, next to “Diamond City.” Nora explained, they continued to walk until they stopped at a rather large house that was obviously just built. 

"This is the women’s house, the men’s house is across the settlement. You'll be sleeping here with all of the other women. I think you'll fit in just fine here, Juliet.” Nora said sweetly, 

The new ex-mayor nodded, “Thank you.” 

Nora winked at her. “Sure, but before you get settled in, you might as well meet everybody…” The three of them walked out into the middle of the street where there was a bell. 

Juliet looked at MacCready smiling but still kind of frightened. He knew how shy she could be, she was like that when they were kids too. He just took her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze. The dirty blonde’s uneasiness began to fade. She felt a lot better that he was there with her. 

Nora pulled on the rope and rang the bell causing it’s slightly pleasing ringing to sound throughout “Sanctuary”. Everyone heard the bell knowing that Nora had something important to tell them. They all headed to the center of town where she was still there waiting for everyone. 

"Everyone, I have something important to say.” She told them, everybody shut up and listened intently. 

The Vault dweller gestured to Juliet. “Meet the newest member of our settlement. This is Juliet, a friend of MacCready’s, she’ll be staying with us…” Juliet just smiled and waved to the crowd of people in front of her. 

"Hi there.” She said, 

The other residents just smiled back at her. They all seemed to think that the young woman was very nice, but at the same time, some were a bit baffled that someone as nice as her could be friends with someone like MacCready. 

"That is all I called you for. You may each carry on with your duties.” Nora said, the crowd dispersed leaving the original three just standing there. 

"Okay, so I've got some stuff to do, Juliet. When I get back, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. But for now, feel free to walk around and formally meet everyone.” Nora told her, 

Juliet smiled now completely comfortable with the 222 year old woman. “Thanks Nora, you're very kind.” 

"Hey, consider my home, your home.” Nora winked, then she turned and walked away. 

Juliet began to walk around “Sanctuary”. She took the time to admire her surroundings. She saw all of the pre-war houses and she was surprised that even though they were now severely damaged, they were still standing overall. The trees were now bare due to winter coming. She then looked around at all of the other settlers working around the settlement. They all looked extremely friendly. There were a few ghouls but that was okay with her, she loved ghouls. Well, at least the non-feral ones. 

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar reporter in a red leather coat talking with a woman with crazy red hair wearing a corset and capris. 

She approached them. “Hey.” 

They instantly took notice of her. 

"Hey, so you're Juliet, huh?” Piper said kindly, 

Juliet nodded, “Yep, that's me.” 

The nice reporter then shook her hand, “Nice to meet you, I'm Piper.” She introduced herself, 

The redhead then shook the blonde’s hand. "Top o’ the mornin’ to you, darlin’. I'm Cait.” She said, her voice had a thick Irish brogue to it. 

"It's very nice to meet you guys too.” Juliet beamed, just then another woman walked up. She had porcelain skin and icy blue eyes with very short dark brown hair. 

"Bonjour mademoiselle Piper, mademoiselle Cait.” She said, instead her voice had a delicate French accent to it. 

"Oi’ Curie! This is Juliet. She's staying with us now.” Cait introduced her to the girl, 

Curie’s smile instantly brightened up even more and gave Juliet a handshake that was more eager and energized than the other two. 

"Oh! Bonjour mademoiselle! I am Curie!” She said excitedly, she shook her hand to a point where Juliet nearly lost her balance. 

When the synth finally released her firm grip on her hand, Juliet regained her stance, smiled, and replied, “Oh, please, the pleasure is all mine, Curie.” She replied, 

"Oh, mon dieu! So polite! Finally, another woman around here who acts like a lady! Take notes from this girl, mademoiselle Cait.” She joked, 

Piper laughed while the Irish girl put on a deadpanned look. “...Sure thing…” She said curtly, 

"Oh Cait! I was just kidding! You're so sensitive!” Curie said playfully punching her arm. The other three girls continued to laugh and after a minute, Cait found herself chuckling as well. 

"Well, it was nice talking to you guys, but I should probably go look around some more.” Juliet told them, she bid them good day and turned heading for the yellow house where the Minutemen were currently sleeping. She looked around the old pre-war house. It was nice, with a little more patching up it would be a nice place to live. 

'Huh, I think I'm going to like it here.’ She thought to herself, 

"I know why you're here, Juliet...” A voice spoke up, 

The dirty blonde was startled. She looked around wondering where the voice was coming from. Then she looked over to the far corner of the room where an old woman sat in a fabric green chair. She was dressed up like a gypsy fortune teller. It was Mama Murphy. 

She approached the woman cautiously. “How...How do you know who I am?” She asked her, 

"I know about a lot of people…and what will happen to them...I can see...you're here for a very special purpose...the real reason you're here…” She said, 

The ex-mayor’s eyes widened. “...No...no, that's not possible...no one knows why I'm here, aside from being with my friend...you're a fake…” She turned to leave the house but what Mama Murphy said next was something that she wasn't expecting. 

"...You care for the boy, don't you…?” 

Juliet whirled around to face her. She approached the old woman cautiously. 

"...I...I-I beg your pardon?” She said uneasily, 

"...That boy...that young mercenary boy...the one that Nora travels with all the time...MacCready...you care for him do you not?” Mama Murphy asked her, 

Juliet blushed and her eyes went wide. “What? What makes you think I care for him?” She asked her, 

"My dear, I can see all that was, all that is, and all that will be...I know everything…” She smiled wide showing all of her yellow teeth. “...and I know that you have strong feelings for him…” 

Juliet smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “...Yeah...I guess so…” She replied, 

"Yes, and those feelings are...romantic...you have romantic interest in him, yes?” Mama Murphy said teasingly, 

Juliet’s smile grew wider and her blush deepened. “...Yes…” 

"And...I’m getting something...a vision...of you two...of your future…” Mama Murphy told her, 

Juliet felt her heart begin to thump loudly in her chest. 

"Wait. Did you say...our future...?” 

"Yes, my dear...and “The Sight” can help you...I just need...some Mentats…” Mama Murphy replied,

The ex-mayor blinked once in confusion. “Mentats?” 

"Chems kid, they give ol’ Mama Murphy “The Sight”...if you can spare some Mentats, I can give you the answers…” She explained, 

"But...Nora told me on the way here that you're an addict. Are you sure that's a good idea?” The dirty blonde questioned her, 

"Oh child, Nora doesn't know everything…” Mama Murphy retaliated, “But...if you don't feel comfortable with it, I won't pressure ‘ya...that is, if you don't want to hear about your future with the boy…” 

Juliet wasted no time and pulled her backpack from off of her back and reached into it and pulled out a container of Mentats. 

"Well, I got these off of a chem dealer in “Goodneighbor” when I killed him. I don't use chems except for Stimpaks, Radaway, and Rad-X. So here you go…” Juliet said, she held the box out and the old chem addict almost instantly swiped the box from the young woman’s hand. Mama Murphy downed three of the pills right then and there. 

"Oh yeah, that's good, real good!” She said enjoying how high she was getting, 

"I really hope it's worth risking your health over…” Juliet said seriously, 

"It is...thank you.” She began to get a clearer picture. 

"Okay, let’s see what we have here...oh...oh, very interesting...very interesting indeed...Hmm...is that...is that what I think it is…? Ooh, you'll just love that...mhm...but what's this…? Oh my...well then…” She looked at Juliet sincerely. “My dear, in all of my years...I have never seen anything like this before…” 

Juliet was on the edge of her seat. “What!? What did you see!?” She blurted out, 

"...I’m afraid that it was only a supposed future...it's not definite…” The old woman replied shaking her head, 

"What was in that future?” She asked, 

"I can't tell you that...I’m sorry…” Mama Murphy said sadly, 

"You mean to tell me that I just wasted a box of Mentats for nothing!?” Juliet said getting angry, 

Not entirely, the chems sure made ol’ Mama Murphy feel great! Hehehe…” Mama Murphy joked, it was then that she noticed that the young woman standing in front of her looked rather heartbroken. She felt sympathy for her. Then she remembered something else from the vision. 

Wait a minute, child...there is a way to make this future possible…” She said, 

Juliet listened up. 

"...In order to achieve it, you must tell MacCready how you feel…” Mama Murphy replied, 

Juliet’s eyes widened. “What!? I can't tell him my feelings for him! We've been friends for years...what would he say?...He'd probably hate me for it...” 

"Are you sure about that? I've gotten to know MacCready a bit since Nora first brought him here...maybe you'll be surprised…” Mama Murphy said, “Child...if you don't take a chance and tell him now...your future together won't change...it will be the same as it always has been. Think about that.” 

"Why are you telling me all this?” Juliet questioned her, 

The old woman hesitated before answering. “...Let me tell you a story, sweetheart...once there was a boy and a girl very much in love...the boy was normal, but the girl...she had a superpower...but the boy didn't like it...so she gave up her gift, just so she could be with him...years later, something happened to them, and the girl could have warned the boy that danger was coming…now that boy is dead...and the girl...is old and alone...sitting in a chair…” 

Juliet thought about that for a minute and then patted Mama Murphy’s hand in consolation before turning and heading off running. Mama Murphy just smiled as she watched her go. 

Later that night, when the rest of the settlement was asleep, Juliet managed to grab a beer from the girl’s house and climbed to the roof of the Minuteman house to stargaze and drink. The advice Mama Murphy gave to her played in her head over and over again. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. Should she take a risk and allow her relationship with him to either thrive or fall apart? Or should she still play it safe and hide like she always had done and let nothing change? She didn't know. 

'...Should I tell him?’ She thought to herself, ‘...Maybe I should...I have always thought of the negatives that could happen and never considered the positives...Mama Murphy was right. It's time...I need to tell RJ the truth…’ 

"Juliet.” A voice spoke up, 

Juliet was startled and whirled around to see who was talking to her. 

It was MacCready. 

"Hey Juliet.” He said to her, 

'Perfect timing.’ She thought, “Hey, RJ.” She replied, 

"What’cha doing up here?” He asked, 

"Nothing much, just hanging out.” Juliet replied blushing a little trying to avoid eye contact, 

"...Can I join you?” MacCready asked, 

Juliet smiled and nodded, “Sure, the more the merrier.” She patted the spot next to him and he sat down next to her. She lifted her bottle of beer that was still pretty full to her lips and took a dainty sip. She offered him the bottle and he took it from her gratefully and took a swig before giving it back to her. They were quiet for awhile, neither of them really knew what to say to the other. It was quickly becoming unnerving. 

MacCready looked over at the dirty blonde sitting next to him. He still couldn't believe that she was right there with him. He thought she was gone, that he would never see her again. He was glad that she agreed to come back to “Sanctuary” with Nora and him. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight again. From now on, he would remain by her side…

...He was going to make every moment that he had with her count. 

Juliet finally looked over and noticed that he had his eyes on her. 

"You're staring.” She pointed out, 

MacCready snapped out of it and replied, “Uh, yeah. Sorry. It's just that...well...can I be honest with you?” 

Juliet nodded. 

He sighed before continuing, “When I thought you were...dead...I felt my whole world come crashing down around me. I...I really missed you…” 

Juliet blushed when she heard this. 

"I was miserable for weeks. It wasn't until I finally found you that I felt okay again. Until then, it felt like...I don’t know...like something inside of me died...I wasn't sure what it was at first...but now I think I do…”

Juliet still listened. 

"...You’ve...you’ve become a part of me, Juliet. A special part of me. I care about you a lot, I always have. You're different than anyone else I've ever known. We’ve been best friends for twelve years now...and not once have you ever willingly abandoned me...no one has ever stuck with me for so long before. You're also very compassionate, spunky, you're smart and even funny at times.” That caused him to laugh a little as Juliet giggled too. He started to blush like her. “But my point is...I really like you Juliet Weathers...You’re my best friend…”

Juliet was more than touched by the mercenary’s words. Her eyes grew watery and her cheeks flushed red. She played with a strand of her blonde hair as she stared him in the eyes. This was it. She knew it was time. 

'It's now or never, Jules.’ She thought to herself, 

"That really means a lot to me, RJ…” She replied, “But, can I tell you something too?” 

He nodded, “Yeah?” 

"I…” The ex-mayor felt her cheeks really start to burn, her heart began to pound hard in her chest like a timpani drum. Usually this was the point where she'd either chicken out or run away, but not this time. 

"I...I……” She sighed, “...I-I love you, RJ…” She said, 

MacCready’s heart stopped. He blinked once in surprise. “...What?” He asked her, 

Juliet, now feeling totally humiliated but trying to keep her composure sighed again. “...I love you…” 

"Wait, you love me? As in, THAT kind of love?” MacCready asked again, 

Juliet smiled and nodded as her blush deepened. 

The mercenary was completely taken aback. She was...in love with him? Him. Of all the people in the entire Wasteland. She loved HIM? This was hard to wrap his head around. So many questions suddenly flooded his mind. He was struggling to process the situation. He stared at her blushing harder than before. 

"...How...how long have you felt this way?” He asked, 

"Ever since we were twelve. Since then I have never loved another. It's always been you.” Juliet replied smiling still, on the inside, she was freaking out, but on the outside, she was trying to stay cool so she wouldn't look like an idiot. 

"Wait, so you've loved me for over ten years?” He said in disbelief, 

Juliet smiled down at the tiles on the roof then back up at him. Her smile said it all. 

"Why didn't you ever tell me?” 

"Well, it wasn't until after you and Lucy first started dating that I knew. I didn't want to stand in the way of your guys’ happiness. After you two broke up, I figured you wanted to be just friends. When you came back, I was still scared to tell you, plus I was with Will and I didn't want to hurt him. Then you started dating Lucy again and...well...you know what happened next…” 

She gave him a smirk and a wink. MacCready smiled a bit and Juliet continued. Her face grew sad. “Then...after Lucy died...I figured you weren't ready to move on. I thought that you didn't want anyone else. That Lucy was your one and only...You seemed vulnerable...I couldn't ever take advantage of that…” 

The mercenary was now blushing beyond comprehension. His icy blue irises were wide and he just stared at her while she looked slightly humiliated. 

"Juliet...don't be silly...you could never take advantage of me. Don't ever feel like you are…” He said, 

"But what about Lucy? Don't you still love Lucy?” She asked him, 

"I'll always love Lucy...but we gotta move on eventually. Don't you think?” He replied, “She probably wouldn't want the two of us being miserable.” 

Juliet thought it over. He was kind of right. Lucy may be gone and they both still missed her alot, but they would have to move in without her. Plus, she knew the medic very well. A soft gust of cold wind blew through the air. It was then that Juliet got the strangest feeling that Lucy was witnessing the whole thing right now from above...and she was was happy for them…

She smiled. 

She then noticed the nervous look on her best friend’s face. 

"You okay?” Juliet asked him, 

"Yeah, I'm...I’m sorry. I just...I just can't believe you feel this way about me…” MacCready replied, “But, what about Will? I mean, I know you two are divorced, but don't you still love him?” He asked, 

Juliet instantly burst out laughing. While she laughed she accidentally let out a snort and replied, “Are you kidding!? I only love Will as a friend. He's sweet and he's cool, but do you think he could really hold a candle to you!?” 

MacCready thought it over for a minute while Juliet tried her best to regain her composure. Eventually he shrugged, “I guess not.” 

"Exactly, besides, it's like you just said, we gotta move on eventually.” Juliet smiled but then that smile faded. She wasn’t laughing anymore and was no longer looking him in the eye. She was facing away from him. She was embarrassed, she wanted to be confident about this whole thing but she just couldn't be, she could never be confident around him. Every time she tried she ended up going weak in the knees. 

MacCready knew what she was feeling, he felt bad that she was feeling that way. She probably felt pretty stupid even though he accepted her.

"Juliet?” 

She looked at him. “Yeah-?” She was cut off when he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss. Her eyes widened and blush covered her whole face. It wasn't long before she completely melted into the kiss and let her eyelids drop and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Meanwhile, MacCready put his arms around her waist and lower back pulling her closer into him. Juliet kissed him back with all of her might and moved her hand up to brush some of his hair back. 

He pulled away for a moment so they could breathe and looked straight into her beautiful dark blue eyes that he had always loved. Juliet’s flushed face was hot and red. 

"...I love you too…” He told her, 

Juliet’s heart suddenly got a kick start and began beating harder and faster. Feeling bold, she kissed him again more fiercely. Juliet moaned softly into the kiss as her head was swimming. She couldn't believe this was happening. He was in love with her too? She never expected that to happen. Hearing those three words come out of his mouth meant the world to her. She had waited on baited breath for ten years, but it was worth it. All the sacrifice, heartbreak, struggles, it all ended up working out in the end. 

This boy, the boy that saved her years ago, the boy that was her first best friend, the boy that was the only one for her, was hers at last.


	33. Chapter 32: The Truth Comes Out...

Chelsea woke up extra early one morning in the police station a few weeks later. The sun wasn't even up yet and she was ready to start the day. She ate another sweet roll from her bag and got dressed in her Scribe uniform and began to pack up her belongings. She sighed sadly. 

She was leaving today. 

It took forever, but Chelsea had finally managed to think of the perfect time to leave so she could bring the holotape back to Railroad headquarters without being caught by Brotherhood soldiers. She would leave before the crack of dawn, when no one else was awake which was perfect because she could make a silent escape from the station. 

After about ten minutes she was all ready to go. But before she could leave, she went to the bathroom to freshen up one last time before heading out. She turned the knobs on the old faucets and splashed some cold water on her face and black bangs that hung to the right side of her face. She wiped her face with a hand towel and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled at her reflection as she thought about her almost completed mission. 

"Today's the day.” She said to herself, but then she felt her heart drop. She hated to admit it, but although she felt happy about completing the mission, she was also slightly sad that she had to go. 

When she first infiltrated The Brotherhood, she expected that the mission was going to be simple. Just find the terminal, hack it, get the info on holotape, then get the hell out. But...something changed...she ended up seeing something that she wasn't expecting...she actually met and befriended some people who weren't all that bad...Scribe Haylen was one of them. Haylen took Chelsea under her wing from the very beginning, she showed her the ropes and often helped her if she needed it. 

Then there were people like Nora. Nora wasn't a true Brotherhood soldier, Chelsea knew that from their talks. She was also a Railroad Agent and the General of The Minutemen. She couldn't fault her for being interested in “The Brotherhood of Steel”, she didn't know what kind of people they were. 

...Then...there was Danse…

It was funny. She didn't actually think that she'd become friends with the guy that almost killed her. When she saw him again, she knew that she was going to hate working with him...but...after getting to know him, she realized that he was actually a really nice guy. He and her really related to each other sometimes. They had both gone through a lot, they were dedicated fighters of their organizations, they had a lot more in common than she realized. 

She also found him a bit...attractive. She blushed at her reflection in the mirror as she thought about the times he and her talked, how he spared her the night they met, how his serious talk and techno babble made her laugh. 

But then she shook her head to clear her thoughts. He and Haylen weren't the only ones whom she got along with. In fact, them along with everybody else, were downright nice to her. She expected to hate these people given who they were working for, but instead, these people sort of became her friends. During her time there she had come to realize that they were probably not all that bad. Now that she thought about it, it suddenly felt like she was going to betray her own friends. This made her feel guilty. 

But then she remembered that she was assigned this mission. She had to complete it. Desdemona gave her specific orders and damnit she wasn't going to go against them! 

Chelsea pulled out the holotape and looked at it nervously.

She took a deep breath. “It'll be okay, Chelsea. Just give them the holotape and it will all be over. You will never have to think about it again.” She tucked the holotape back into her pouch and exited the bathroom quietly. 

"You're up.” A familiar voice said, 

Chelsea jumped but then calmed down when she saw who it was. 

It was Danse. 

"D-D-Danse!” She stuttered, “Uh...hey…” She said nervously, 

"Are you okay? You look upset about something.” He asked her, 

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. You just startled me is all.” She said, so much for escaping. She then went to the coffee maker to make a pot of coffee for herself. 

Danse chuckled, “Sorry. Hey, uh, listen. I need to tell you something.” 

Chelsea blinked, “...What is it?” 

Danse began blushing while scratching the back of his head. “It's just...well, it's just that you've been working here for awhile…” He started, 

"Yyyyeeeeaaaahhhh???” Chelsea dragged out, 

"And well, you and I have gotten a lot closer…” Danse continued, 

Chelsea cheeks went pink a little bit. “...Okay…” 

"Yeah...and...well...I know I've already told you that I like working with you. That you are such a good teammate to have around...but...I feel that maybe that wasn't enough...” Danse replied, “Chelsea, to be perfectly honest...I like having you around. You're not the person I thought you were...I actually really like you, Chelsea…” He finished the sentence with a light blush. 

Chelsea was flattered, she was beyond flattered. What he said to her completely melted her heart. 

"...Thank you, Danse…” Chelsea smiled, 

"I...also want to apologize to you…” 

"Apologize? What for?” Chelsea asked him, 

"Well...I'm sorry that I almost killed you when we met. I know things are okay between us now, but the guilt still haunts me a little. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry.” Danse explained, 

Chelsea just smiled and waved him off. “Awww Dansey. It's cool. You aren't the first Brotherhood soldier sent to kill me…” 

Danse blinked once in surprise. “I'm not?” 

"Nope, being one of the top agents in “The Railroad” can give you a bit of a reputation.” She giggled, the coffee had finished brewing and she poured some into a mug for herself. She took a sip and continued, “Plus, I already forgive you. You're a good guy. Besides, you were ordered to kill me. You had no choice but to go along.” 

Danse nodded, “You're right, I make mistakes. I'm only a human…” 

Chelsea smiled. “We all are.” 

They just stared at each other. Danse then stepped up closer to her. Chelsea nervously set her mug down on the front desk. Out of his power armor, Danse was only a little taller than her. Chelsea felt her face heat up and turn pink as she looked him in the eyes. His deep brown eyes matched her chocolate colored orbs. 

Not really thinking about what he was doing, Danse placed his gloved left hand on the side of her face his thumb grazing her cheek. 

Chelsea smiled still flushing. She began to forget where she was at and only focused on Danse. She was so out of it that she didn't realize that she was bringing her face closer to his. She let her lids shut and leaned in when…

**"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!”**

The sudden sound of an alarm clock snapped them both out of it. Chelsea backed up a bit rubbing her arm nervously. 

"Well, I should be getting to work.” Chelsea said, she then walked away blushing. 

Danse watched her walk away. He was also blushing a bit. He was so confused as to what was wrong with him. Deciding to not think on it further, he headed towards the station’s garage to get his power armor and start patrol for the day. 

Meanwhile, Chelsea headed up to the roof and got to work repairing another Knight’s suit of power armor that got banged up by Mirelurks. After she was gone with that she had to help a few other Scribes repair yet another Vertibird. 

"Jesus! Do the people who fly these things even know how to FLY!?!?!?” She growled frustrated, but it was then that Knight Rhys approached her. 

"Hey, Robyn.” He said, 

Chelsea put her wrench down and turned to the Knight dusting her hands off. 

"What's up, Rhys?” She asked him, during her time there she and Rhys had finally learned to get along a little bit. They were still a little shaky and hostile at times but she was happy that Rhys didn't completely hate her guts anymore. 

“Proctor Ingram has requested a meeting with you at the airport immediately.” He explained to her, 

Chelsea blinked. “Me? Why me?” She asked, 

"I don't know, all I know is that you have direct orders to head up there and speak with her.” Then Rhys walked away. 

Chelsea was confused as to what was going on, and she didn't really feel like going. But she remembered that still needed to blend in. If they said that she had to go, then she had to go. 

She took another Vertibird over to the airport. She hopped off and went to go find Proctor Ingram. She was stopped however when she noticed the large robot being built. 

She then saw Proctor Ingram working up on the control deck with another woman with greying hair and bags under her eyes. The woman looked like she hadn't slept a wink. 

She ran up the steel steps to the woman in power armor. 

“Proctor Ingram!” She yelled, the ginger-haired woman noticed her running up. She smiled. “Ah! Scribe Robyn! Perfect timing, I was looking for you.” 

“What is THAT!?” She exclaimed pointing at the massive machine, 

Proctor Ingram looked up at the robot and smiled proud. “Ain't it beautiful? It's “Liberty Prime”. Our secret weapon to taking down “The Institute”.” She explained, 

“Wait, we’re going to take down “The Institute” with THAT thing!?” Chelsea said still surprised, 

“Yep. That gigantic robot is our key to winning this war…” Ingram replied, 

“Now that's a sentence you don't hear everyday.” Chelsea said sarcastically, 

“You can say that again,” Ingram replied, “Here, there's someone I'd like you to meet…” 

They both turned towards the other woman. “Robyn, meet Dr. Madison Li. She worked for “The Brotherhood of Steel” some time back. Dr. Li, this is Robyn Moore. One of our newest Scribes.” 

Dr. Li smiled at the young Railroad Agent. “Nice to meet you, dear.” 

“Wait. Dr. Li? Did you know a guy named Albert?” Chelsea questioned her, 

Dr. Li’s eyes lit up at the mention of the famed “Lone Wanderer’s” name. “You know Albert?” She replied, 

“Of course, he was a friend of me and my other friends some time back. We haven't heard from him in forever.” Chelsea replied nodding, 

Dr. Li smiled at her again. “Any friend of James’ son is a friend of mine.” 

Then Proctor Ingram spoke up. “Dr. Li, how’s Liberty Prime doing?” She asked her, 

“Good news, I have managed to fully restore Liberty Prime’s basic functions.” She replied, 

“Excellent. We've almost got the big guy up and running again. I talked with Knight Nora and she’s already taken care of building Liberty Prime’s Electromagnetic Actuators.” 

“Okay, so that's done.” Chelsea nodded, “Then why'd you call me down here?” 

“Well, we have all of his parts, except for one little thing…” Ingram told her, 

Chelsea motioned her hand for her to go on. “Which is...?” 

“...His nukes…” 

Chelsea’s blood went cold at those two words. 

“...Oh my god…” She said, 

“Yep. It turns out that The Commonwealth was a major staging area for the military back during “The Great War”. There should be tons of nukes here.” 

“Well that's convenient.” Chelsea remarked,   
“The only problem is, ever since we first arrived here, we haven't been able to find a single bomb.” 

“That's a problem, without those nukes, Liberty Prime won't have the firepower to take on “The Institute”.” Dr. Li cut in, 

Chelsea then hissed between her teeth. “Ooh…Well, there must be some way to get those nukes.” She said, 

“We think there might be,” Proctor Ingram said, “Proctor Quinlan has been doing some searching and has managed to locate an old Military Facility in the “Glowing Sea”. We expect that the place could have a few bombs." 

“Okay?” Chelsea said, “So where do I come in?” 

“Well, you've been one of our best Scribes so far. You've done every job just right...So I need you to go to the site and get those nukes.” Ingram explained to her, 

“What!? What are you crazy!? I can't go it alone!” Chelsea yelled, 

“You won't be, you will be accompanying Knight Nora and Paladin Danse on this mission.” Dr. Li said, 

The Railroad Agent suddenly felt her feelings ease up a little bit. 

“Okay then. Show us where to go…” 

Chelsea was put into a suit of Brotherhood power armor and met up with Nora and Danse by Haylen’s signal. After some quick direction, Haylen pointed the way for them to go to get to the supposed site. The three of them fought their way through the “Glowing Sea.” Shooting anything ranging from Bloodbugs, Bloatflies, and Stingwings to ferals and radscorpions. After a while, they felt that their destination was near. 

Danse looked over at Chelsea. The raven-haired woman looked over and noticed that he was staring. 

“...Something wrong, Danse?” She asked him,   
“N-No! No. It’s just that…..you really glow in power armor.” He remarked, 

“What!? Glowing!? Am I glowing!?” She asked freaking out, 

Danse immediately realized that his compliment came out wrong. “No! I mean...you look really nice in power armor…” He told her, 

Chelsea calmed down giving a sigh of relief when she heard that. “Oh...well thank you.” She said, she was thankful that the Brotherhood Paladin couln’t see her blush behind her helmet. 

Finally, that saw a certain structure in the distance. 

Chelsea squinted trying to see through the radstom. “Is...is that the place?” She asked the other two over the high winds, 

“Affirmative, we are here.” Danse said, “Now come on, let's go get those nukes…” He ran into the pyramid like structure while the other two just followed. When they entered, Chelsea, Nora, and Danse removed their power armor and looked around. The pyramid was huge on the inside. Many staircases going downward and a very high ceiling. 

“Okay, how are we going to do this?” Nora asked, 

“Well, the nukes could be anywhere and it seems like a long way down. However, there are multiple doors that need to be unlocked to get down to the bottom...Here’s the strategy. Nora, you will handle the doors to the right side, Chelsea and I will take the left side.” Danse told them, 

Nora nodded. “Right.” She said, 

“Okay, let's go.” Chelsea encouraged Danse, 

The three split up and went for their designated doors. Nora went to the right while Chelsea went down the staircase to the left with Danse following her. Once they reached their first room, they looked around and spotted a terminal next to the sealed doors. 

Chelsea exited her power armor and approached the terminal. 

“Okay, I should be able to hack this…” She told Danse, she began typing away at the terminal until finally it beeped. 

The Railroad Agent smiled. “Bingo.” She selected the option to unlock the doors and they opened without any trouble. 

“Outstanding work, Chelsea.” Danse complimented her, 

Chelsea’s cheeks turned pink from the flattery. “Thank you.” She then got back in her power armor and they continued on. They went across the way over to Nora who already had the other door opened. They continued to hack the terminals and go through the doors and down the numerous flights of stairs until they finally reached the bottom level. 

Chelsea then saw what looked like a large version of the mini nukes that people shot out of Fat Man’s. She sized it up whistling. 

“Whoa, guys check this out.” She said impressed, 

Both Nora and Danse turned to her. 

They noticed that there was a small tunnel through a large pipe. They headed through the tunnel running into a few ferals along the way, but neither Nora or Chelsea had trouble taking them out. They continued to travel through the winding tunnels hoping to reach the arsenal soon. 

Nora led the trio while Danse and Chelsea threaded behind. They barely said a word to one another which was odd considering that they were friends now. 

Chelsea looked up at Danse and then down at the floor. Danse looked over at her. 

“So...we’re almost to the nukes, huh?” Chelsea asked in an awkward attempt to make small talk, 

“I guess so…” Danse replied, 

“I'm sure they'll prove most useful to the Brotherhood.” She said, 

Danse looked at her surprised. He never thought he'd see the day that an agent of “The Railroad” would hope the best for the Brotherhood. 

What he still couldn't figure out was why she had a strong hatred for “The Brotherhood of Steel” before. He tried to ask her that one time that they talked on the roof of the police station, but she refused to answer. He knew that she might say no again, but he was willing to try anyway. 

“Chelsea, can I ask you something?” He asked her, 

Chelsea smiled up at him. “Sure Danse. Anything.” 

“Well, I just wanted to know...why did you used to hate the Brotherhood? It doesn't make any sense.” Danse told her, 

Chelsea’s breath got caught in her throat. She froze for a second and just stared ahead of her. She then looked at Danse sadly. 

“...I...I don't want to talk about it , Danse…” She replied, 

“I know it must be hard for you to talk about...but you can trust me, we’re friends now...you can tell me anything.” He told her, 

Chelsea looked down at the floor unsure while Danse looked at her concerned. 

“...Chelsea…?” He said, 

She looked at him again. “I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you.” 

“I promise that I'll believe you no matter what you say.” Danse assured her, 

Chelsea sighed before continuing. 

“...The Brotherhood killed my family…”

Danse was taken aback by her answer. “...What?” 

“They killed my family, all except for me. My parents rescued synths, you already know that. However, the Brotherhood wasn't so keen on that. So a certain division of The Brotherhood reigned terror down on my family and killed my parents, and my sister. Luckily, I managed to escape and ran away. Ever since then I despised them...that is...until I joined up.” She said smiling at the end, 

Danse was in shock. He didn't quite know how to reply. 

“...Chelsea...I didn't know...I'm..I’m sorry that happened to you…” He told her, 

“It's not your fault, Danse.” She replied, 

“Killing civilians? I...I had no idea that the Brotherhood would do something so… so barbaric…” Danse said still in disbelief, 

Chelsea nodded. “Believe it.” 

Danse couldn't believe that this was happening. Could it be that the organization that he fought hard for, the one that he gave his life to, was no better than any of their enemies? This was a lot to take all at once. 

Chelsea noticed how lost in thought he was.   
“Danse?” 

He snapped out of it. 

“Sorry, Chelsea...It's just...It's just a lot to take in that's all…once again, I'm sorry that happened to you…” Danse apologized, 

She smiled and gave him a tight hug while still in her power armor. 

“Thanks.” She thanked him, 

The Paladin couldn't help the blush that was coming up on his cheeks as the Railroad Agent hugged him. Not really sure if what else to do, he put his arms around her as well. Chelsea then lifted her head and looked him in the eyes all the while blushing. She leaned in and he did so too. Their lips almost touched when…

“Hey guys!” Nora called to them, she was already slightly far ahead of them. They both snapped out of it and looked at each other laughing nervously. Chelsea’s while face turned pink. She cleared her throat. 

“We should uh…*ahem* go see what Nora wants…” She then went off down the tunnel to catch up to Nora. Danse just stared after her thinking about that slightly intimate moment between the two of them and then finally followed her. 

Chelsea and Danse found Nora in what looked like a control room with a window. Through the window they saw more missiles and nukes than their minds could comprehend. 

But they weren't alone. 

There, standing before them, was a Child of Atom. 

“Oh God, not another one of these kooks!” Chelsea groaned, 

Nora put her hand over Chelsea’s mouth to shut her up and laughed nervously. She approached the Child of Atom and spoke up. 

“Yeah, hi, I know it's gonna sound really crazy but we need these nukes.” She explained, 

“No! These bombs belong to Atom! Now be gone the three of you!” The man in green robes ordered, 

“Wait! Um...Atom has sent us, he asks that we bring him his bounty.” Nora lied, Chelsea and Danse looked at each other wondering if it was going to work. 

The man’s eyes widened. “Oh! Messengers of Atom! Of course, of course! Then if that is what he asks, then I shall obey.” He then ran out of the room and took off down the tunnels. 

Nora laughed and shook her head at that. “Sucker.” She said, she then managed to access the room to the arsenal. They looked around in wonder. 

“Look at all of this!” Nora said, 

“No kidding!” Chelsea added on, 

Danse turned to them. “Good work ladies. Now, Nora, you have orders to speak with Maxson on “The Prydwen”, and Chelsea you should go too.” He told them, 

“But wait, what about you? You aren't coming too?” Chelsea asked sadly, 

“Elder Maxson made his orders very clear that I am to stay here and not let these bombs out of my sight until the vertibirds come to retrieve them.” He replied, 

“Then I'll stay here too.” Chelsea offered, 

Danse stopped her. “No. You should head back. You'll be safe at the station.” He said, he then noticed that the Railroad Agent looked really heartbroken that he wasn't coming with. 

He smiled at her. “Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll be back at the station before you know it.” 

Chelsea then smiled up at him. “Okay.” She then followed Nora to the elevator that would get them out of the Sentinel Site. She stepped onto the platform and then looked back and took one last look at Danse who now had his back turned to them watching the many nukes. The elevator then went up and eventually both she and Nora reached the top floor and left the site where a Brotherhood vertibird was already outside waiting for them. 

They climbed aboard and Chelsea nervously bit her lip. 

Nora smiled over at Chelsea. “I think we did good today, huh Chels?” She asked her, 

“Yeah...we did…” Chelsea replied, 

“How about when Danse comes back we can have victory noodles up in “The Prydwen”?” She offered, 

Chelsea smiled weakly and nodded, “Okay. There’s just something I gotta do first…” 

“Dez, I'm back!” Chelsea called as she entered “The Railroad” base, Deademona looked up from the circular table and everyone else’s heads turned at the sound of her voice. 

“Chelsea!” Deacon yelled happily, 

Glory smiled bright. “You're back!” She said, 

Chelsea smiled as well for she was happy to see her fellow agents again. “Hey guys, it's good to be back.” 

Desdemona walked up to her. “Tinker Tom said that you have the holotape. Is that true?” She asked her, 

Chelsea smiled proudly as she pulled it out of her pouch and holding it out for all of them to see. “Got it right here.” 

Doctor Carrington looked at her with slight approval. “So you have done it. Well done.” He complimented her, 

Everyone else proceeded to cheer for her. Desdemona smiled. 

“Good job, “Shadow”. Now just hand the tape over and your mission is complete.” Desdemona then held out her hand to take the holotape from Chelsea. 

The raven-haired woman was about to hand it to her but was suddenly stopped by this horrible pain her gut, following that she felt her heart hurt. A huge wave of guilt began to wash over her. As if by instinct, she pulled the tape away. 

Her leader looked at her agent confused. “Chelsea? The tape.” She asked politely, 

Chelsea just helped the tape back while she stared at her desperately. 

Everyone was silent now. Suddenly Deacon cut in. He chuckled. “Okay, Chelsea. Good joke. It's funny. Now go on, hand over the tape.” He said, he was obviously trying to make it so she wouldn't get into trouble. 

Chelsea’s face darkened. “...No.” She said, 

The entire crew gasped and murmured amongst themselves. 

“What do you mean “no”?” Desdemona asked of oc her best agents strictly,

“I mean I won't give you the tape,” Chelsea replied, “This may sound crazy, but those people aren't all that bad.” 

“Chelsea, how could you say something like that?” Glory asked her, 

“I met some of them. There was another Scribe. She was really nice to me. Then there’s this Paladin.” She said blushing, 

“A Paladin? You befriended a Paladin!?” Deacon said amazed,

“Yeah, and he was he one who supported me the most. He’s...he's my friend…” 

Doctor Carrington then noticed the blush on her cheeks. “Oh no…“Shadow’s” gone sweet on him.” He said, 

Chelsea suddenly got very defensive. “I am NOT sweet on him! I just...he just means a lot to me, okay?” 

Dssdemona sighed. “Chelsea. I would like to show you something…” She then took the raven-haired woman’s hand and led her to the back rooms. They went to the right until they reached the brick wall. 

“What is it you want to show me?” Chelsea asked her leader, 

Desdemona then moved a brick and suddenly the whole wall moved aside revealing a small room with a terminal. 

“Chelsea, take a look at this…” She said, she gestured to the terminal. Chelsea looked at the screen and squinted her eyes at the weird combinations of numbers and letters. 

“What is this?” She asked her, 

“...This is a list of synths that were lost at the hands of the Brotherhood…” 

Desdemona began to scroll down the list and Chelsea’s eyes widened as he lost kept on going down. Her heart broke at the number of synths that the Brotherhood had killed. When the list was finally done. Chelsea’s face darkened and Desdemona held out her hand. 

“So, you gonna give us the holotape now?” She asked her, 

Chelsea hesitated but then placed the holotape in Desdemona’s hand. Then she straightened up and took off running. She ran out of the catacombs as the other agents watched her leave with confusion. 

Chelsea ran back to police station and boarded a vertibird going to “The Prydwen”. 

“I gotta find Danse and tell him the truth…” Chelsea said to herself, 

Finally the vertibird reached “The Prydwen” and Chelsea took off running inside. She ran through the halls knocking into some of the other Brotherhood soldiers earning dirty glances from them. 

“Danse...where are you…?” She whispered to herself, 

She entered the command deck when she noticed Elder Maxson talking to Nora. 

“Is there anything you wish to tell me, Knight?” Maxson asked her, 

“I don't know what you’re talking about.” Nora said rather defensively, 

Maxson sighed, “Proctor Quinlan was going through the data that you managed to get from the “Institute” and we found something...unprecedented…One of the things on that holotape was a list of synths that went missing or escaped, and we found that one of the Paladin Danse had a DNA match with one of the synths on that list.” 

Nora’s eyes widened and she let out a gasp. “So you're saying…?” 

“Yes,” Maxson nodded, “Danse is a synth…”


	34. Chapter 33: Blind Betrayal

Chelsea stepped back completely shocked. This couldn't be happening! Danse was a synth!? 

“You can't be serious! There's no way that he’s a synth!” Nora said angrily, the Vault dweller had seen and heard some crazy stuff since she left the Vault, but she really had the rug pulled out from under her this time. 

“I can assure you, Proctor Quinlan looked the data over multiple times. Danse is a synth. To make things worse, he's gone AWOL, disappeared without a trace. I'm sorry, Knight. But that doesn't absolve you of your duties. Which leads me to the most difficult order I've ever given…” 

Chelsea waited on baited breath.

“Your mission, is to track down Paladin Danse...and execute him…” 

Chelsea gasped and cupped her hands over her mouth. 

“No, I won't do it.” Nora said angrily, 

“You WILL do it! That's an order!” Maxson said harshly, 

Nora then sadly looked down at the floor defeated. “...Yes Elder Maxson…” She said, 

At that moment, Chelsea got the sudden urge to run up to Maxson and punch him square in the face. This was a terrible thing that he was ordering Nora to do! She couldn't allow this to happen, she wasn't going to allow this to happen. She didn't understand why they would want to do this to someone like Danse. 

She already knew that she was fond of the Paladin, but now, her feelings towards him were a whole lot stronger. 

Like she was…

...In love…

Chelsea felt her heart stop. She realized it then and there. 

She was in love with Danse. 

Danse. Paladin of “The Brotherhood of Steel”, her arch enemy, the one who almost killed her, and she was in love with him. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was never really the romantic type and she was always too busy doing work for “The Railroad” to want a relationship. This was all so new to her. 

But Danse, he made her feel okay. 

She then saw that Nora was given orders to see Proctor Quinlan for more information. She was so distraught that she didn't even notice Chelsea as she passed by her. Chelsea began to follow her to Proctor Quinlan’s office. 

When she saw Nora go in, she decided that it would be best to stay outside the room and wait for Nora to come out. She hid behind a wall when she saw Scribe Haylen walk past her and enter the office as well. 

She instantly heard an argument go down between the three people, but then, after a few minutes, Haylen and Nora came out of the room and headed for the area where they could talk discreetly. She followed them and watched them talk but since they couldn't speak too loudly about the situation, Chelsea couldn't hear them very well. Finally, she saw Nora walk away and Haylen watched her go with a sad smile on her face. 

She ran up to her. “Haylen!” She yelled, Haylen turned to her surprised. 

“Robin!? What are you doing here!?” She asked, 

“Is it true? Is Danse really a synth!?” Chelsea asked her, 

“Sure sounds like it. But honestly, who cares if he's a synth! He's still Danse!” Haylen retaliated, “He was the one who showed me how to never give up no matter how bad things got.” 

“I agree with you.” Chelsea nodded, 

“I hope Nora hears him out,” Haylen said in despair, “Danse deserves a chance to explains himself. After all, he's a soldier of the Brotherhood just like you and me.” 

Chelsea nervously bit her lip. “Uh Haylen? About that...I...I have a confession to make…” 

Haylen listened up. 

“I...I’m not a Brotherhood Scribe...I'm actually an agent of “The Railroad”.” She said sadly, 

The beautiful Scribe’s eyes widened, “Wait what!?” She said rather loudly, 

“Shhh!” Chelsea shushed her, she sighed. “Yes, I'm part of “The Railroad”. I was sent here to infiltrate the Brotherhood and find out as much as I could about you guys.” 

“So you lied to us!?” Haylen said now angry, 

“Yes but I'm sorry I lied, I had no choice. I actually hated lying to people like you and Danse.” Chelsea apologized, 

The Scribe’s look softened. “...Robin…” She hesitated, 

“Also, my name’s not Robin Moore. It's actually Chelsea, Chelsea Love.” 

Haylen’s eyes widened. “Wait...Chelsea love? Weren't you the Agent that Danse killed?” She asked her, 

“Danse was supposed to kill me, yes, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't find it in his heart to kill me. That alone proves that he's a good guy.” Chelsea replied, 

“You're right.” Haylen said, 

“He's the guy that I love.” Chelsea blushed, 

Haylen blinked. “Wait, you love Danse?” 

Chelsea smiled at the Scribe still blushing. “...Yes…”

Haylen smirked, “Well let me just tell you something, you got yourself a keeper.” She winked, 

“Thanks Haylen. So, is Nora going to kill him?” Chelsea asked her, 

“I don't know. Nora said that she would hear him out, let him tell his side of the story. But I'm still not so sure…” Haylen replied, 

“Well then I have to go after her. Where did you tell her to go?” Chelsea asked, 

Haylen sighed. “Well, I remember when we first got here, Danse and I found an alternative place to go if we ever lost the police station. Listening Post Bravo.” 

The raven-haired woman nodded. “Thanks, Haylen.” She proceeded to give the Scribe a hug which surprised her and took off running out of “The Prydwen”. Haylen smiled after her. 

Chelsea was now running through the Wasteland as fast as her legs could carry her. She felt her heart pounding hard in her best as she tried to get to Nora before it was too late. It wasn't until both Nora and Listening Post Bravo were in view that Chelsea decided to reveal herself. 

Nora took out the turrets without any problem and was about to go into the bunker. 

“Wait.” Chelsea said, 

Nora turned to face her. The Vault dweller’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Chelsea? What are you doing here?” She asked her, 

“Nora, please don't kill Danse. He's our friend. How can you go and turn your back on him!?” Chelsea told her, tears began to fill her eyes and she suddenly broke down sobbing. 

Nora smiled at her. “Chelsea, I'm not going to kill him.” She said, 

“You're not?” Chelsea said perking up, 

“No, of course not.” Nora replied, “Maxson is wrong about him. He deserves a chance to tell his side of the story.” 

“Yeah, that's what Haylen said.” Chelsea replied, 

They both looked to the front entrance of the bunker. 

“Okay, let’s go.” Nora said, she began to head in when she noticed that the Railroad Agent wasn’t following her. She turned to her. Chelsea looked ashamed of herself. 

“Chelsea?” She said confused, 

“You...you should probably go see him yourself...I don't think he would want to talk to me…” She said, 

“Why?” Nora shrugged, 

“Because I lied to him. I don't work for the Brotherhood...I work for “The Railroad”...The whole Scribe thing was an undercover mission to retrieve info. He could never forgive me for that…” Chelsea explained, 

The brunette put her hand on the raven-haired woman’s shoulder. “I'm sure your intentions were good.” She told her, 

“Yeah, and I don't care about whose side we’re both on anymore...all I care about is him…” She finished that sentence with a blush. 

Nora suddenly realized what was going on. She smirked. “Come on, Danse will forgive you. I know him, you know him. He has a good heart...or..artificial heart, hehe...either way. He’ll respect your honesty.” 

Chelsea smiled up at the 222 year old woman. 

“Ready to go in?” Nora said, 

“...Yeah…” Chelsea nodded, “Let’s go…”

The duo entered the bunker and managed to grab some loot in the process. They headed for the terminal next to the elevator. Chelsea used it to power the elevator and they took the elevator down to the basement level. 

The two of them fought their way through the protectrons and other obstacles that the bunker had to offer them. Finally, they saw a familiar figure through a window. 

Danse. 

Luckily for them, he didn't seem to notice them. 

“There he is.” Nora said, 

“Thank God he's okay.” Chelsea said relieved, but then the guilt of lying to him resurfaced. Nora noticed this and understood why she was like this. Chelsea stood back while Nora went to go talk to Danse. 

The ex-Paladin noticed her walk up to him. 

“I should've expected that Maxson would send you to kill me. He never liked doing the dirty work himself.” Danse told Nora, he sounded defeated. Hearing this broke Chelsea’s heart. 

“Danse, why didn’t you tell me that you were a synth?” Nora asked him, 

“Because I didn't know. I had memories of growing up in the ruins, I remember it all as clear as day. Is it really possible that some bastards in a laboratory just implanted them into my head?” He asked her, “Anyway, why are you here? Does Maxson even want me alive?” 

“No, he doesn't.” Nora replied, 

“Figures. Well, if it's what you need to do, then do it. End me. I need to be the example, not the exception.” Danse said calmly, 

Tears filled Nora’s eyes. “No, I won't do it.” She said abruptly, 

“But Maxson gave you specific orders to execute me, and I'll be damned if I will let you stop yourself from completing your mission. I won't let you put your life in danger too.” Danse said seriously, 

“What do you mean?” Nora asked him, 

“If you fail to fulfill your duty, Maxson will most certainly have you executed as well. I can't let that happen to a friend.” Dans explained, 

“No, I still won't do it. Maxson’s wrong about you.” Nora said defensively, 

“Nora...you have to...for the Brotherhood…” 

Nora shook her head. 

Danse sighed, “If you won't do it, willingly, then I'll make you…” He got down on his knees and yanked Nora’s laser rifle bringing it close to his head. 

“Thank you for trying to help me.” He said smiling sadly, 

“Danse, don't do this.” Nora said urgently reaching a hand out, 

“Just one more thing...Tell Chelsea...I'm sorry…” Danse said sadly, 

That did it for Chelsea. She ran out into the open. 

“DANSE! NO!” She yelled out, 

Danse’s eyes widened and he stood up as Nora lowered the gun from his head. 

“Chelsea! What are you doing here!?” He asked her, 

“Stopping you from doing something dumb!” She replied, she ran to him and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly not even daring to let go. She then grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him violently. “ARE YOU STUPID!?!?!?” She cried out loud in his face, Danse managed to break free of her hold and stopped her. 

“Chelsea, listen to me, you need to get out of here. I don't want you to be involved in this. If Maxson says I have to die, then I have to die. Go.” He said almost demandingly, 

“No, I'm not leaving this bunker without you. I care about you, Danse. You're my best friend. Not just my friend, but my BEST FRIEND. I'm not going to just stand by and allow you to get yourself killed just because some asshole said so!” Chelsea screamed, 

“Chelsea, you shouldn't speak about Elder Maxson like that. Talk like that will get you killed.” Danse said trying to protect her, 

“I don't give a shit about what he does to me! All I care about is what happens to you…”

“But...why would risk your life for a machine?” Danse asked her,

“...Because it's what I do...and you're a human, Danse. You feel human emotions, you risk a lot for a noble cause. You. Are. Human.” Chelsea told him, “and you have people who care about you...Haylen...Nora...me…” She blushed, 

Danse then felt this weird feeling go off in his chest. The raven-haired woman wrapped her arms around him again. He hesitantly put his arms around her and they stood there for awhile holding each other tightly. Nora just stood back smiling. She was glad that Chelsea was able to open Danse’s eyes and see that there was another way out for him. That it didn't have to end like this. 

Finally Danse softly pulled away from Chelsea and she looked at him confused. 

He looked sad. He placed his hand on her cheek like he had done before and grazed her cheek with his thumb.   
“What wrong?” Chelsea asked him, 

Danse sighed. “If I'm not going to be executed, then there's only one other option for me…I have to leave the Commonwealth…” 

Chelsea’s heart broke again when she heard that. 

“...Oh…” She said, 

“I appreciate all that you have done, Chelsea...but it's my only chance for survival...The sooner I make for the border, the sooner I'll be safe from the Brotherhood…” 

“I'll help you, Danse.” Nora cut in, 

The synth then looked past Chelsea to Nora. 

“Thanks Nora. Here, take my holotags, they'll prove to Maxson that you’ve completed your mission…” He dropped them into the Vault dweller’s hand. 

Chelsea smirked, “You're using the tactic that I used to help you when we met.” She said teasingly, 

Danse laughed lightly. “Yeah well, you meet some people and you learn a thing or two from them.” He shot her a wink that made her blush again. “Now come on, let's get the hell out of here…” The three of them headed for the exit. When Chelsea took Danse’s hand in hers stopping him. He turned to her concerned. 

“So...I guess this is goodbye…?” She said sadly, 

“...I guess so…” Danse replied somberly, 

“Danse...thank you for showing me that the Brotherhood isn't as horrible as I thought.” Chelsea thanked him, 

Danse smiled back at her. “and thank you for making me wake up and realizing that I shouldn't be ashamed of what I am. I am eternally grateful for that…” 

They headed for the elevator and it didn't take long to reach the top floor again. They walked through the exit only to get the shock of their lives. 

There was a Brotherhood vertibird parked outside. Before them, stood Elder Maxson, and he didn't look happy to see them. 

“How dare you betray the Brotherhood!?” He yelled at Nora, 

“You...how did you find us?” Nora asked angrily through gritted teeth, 

“I figured that after your hesitation to accept your mission, that you would have trouble killing him, and I was right. Why has this..this THING not been destroyed!?” Maxson yelled at her, 

Chelsea felt her anger boil up inside of her. She was trying so desperately to not just kill him right then and there. 

“I haven't killed Danse because you're wrong about him.” Nora said sternly, 

“Him? Danse isn't a man, it's a machine, an automaton created by “The Institute”! Flesh is flesh, and machine is machine, the two were never meant to intertwine!” Maxson snapped, “and what's worse is that you deliberately went against orders in front of a fellow Scribe,” he gestured to Chelsea. “What kind of example will this set?” 

“You're wasting your breath, Elder Maxson. I'm not going to do it.” Nora said angrily, 

“Have you gone mad, soldier!? Danse wasn't born from the womb of a loving mother, it was built in the cold confines of a laboratory. It's nothing but a machine that thinks it's alive!” 

Chelsea stepped forward fists clenched. 

“...You're wrong…” She said, 

Maxson looked to her, “What did you say, Scribe?” 

Chelsea looked him in the eye. “I said...you're wrong! Danse IS a man! He thinks, he feels, he has emotions! He has sacrificed so much for the Brotherhood, and yet you turn your back on him just for who he is! You are not fit to be the leader of “The Brotherhood of Steel”...They deserve a much better leader than a genocidal asshole like you…” 

“You watch your tongue, Scribe!” Maxson snapped at her. 

She smirked, “Well then I've got news for ‘ya. I'm not a Scribe.” 

“What are you talking about!?” Maxson demanded, 

“...My name is Chelsea Love. One of the top agents of the organization known as “The Railroad”!” She yelled out, “Of course, you and yours know me better as… “Shadow”...”

Maxson’s eyes widened. “You...you were that Railroad Agent that Danse…” He looked to Danse now furious. The synth was looking down at the ground in shame. 

“YOU LET HER GO!?” He roared, 

“You're wrong about her.” Was all Danse said, 

“You spared an enemy of the Brotherhood. So, not only are you an a robotic abomination, you're a traitor! A sabeutor!” Maxson yelled, he was really angry now. 

“Arthur, you're wrong about Chelsea. Just like you are wrong about me. “The Railroad” is not our enemy, “The Institute” is. She opened my eyes as to what synths really are. They're people too. Now, knowing that I'm one of them, only makes the belief greater.” Danse told him, 

“Are you even listening to yourself!? You're a machine! Of course you would support your own kind and the people who save your kind! You betrayed the Brotherhood just sparing her. By letting this agent go, you allowed her to dupe us! She was probably searching the Brotherhood for information!”

“Chelsea would never do that…” Danse then looked to Chelsea. “...Would you?” 

The Railroad Agent gave the ex-Brotherhood Paladin a guilty look. 

Danse’s eyes widened. “...You mean...all this time...you were…?” 

“I wanted to tell you…” Chelsea said, 

“See what your actions have wrought, Danse!? You've single-handedly destroyed the Brotherhood! I hope you’re proud of yourself!” Maxson yelled at him, he then looked back to Nora. “Knight, I have new orders for you. Now you will execute Danse AND this Railroad Agent! Either you do it, or I will…” 

But Nora stood her ground. “No.” She said again, 

“So, it appears we’ve arrived at an impasse. Allowing these two to live goes against everything the Brotherhood stands for, and yet you insist that they remain alive! I guess that leaves me with one other option…” He looked to Danse. “Danse, as far as I'm concerned, you're dead. You were pursued and slain by this Brotherhood Knight and your remains were incinerated. From this point forward, you are forbidden to set foot on “The Prydwen” and talk to anyone in “The Brotherhood of Steel”...” 

Then he turned to Chelsea. “And as for you...no one knows who you really are. So, though I know this is probably against my better judgement...I'm gonna let you go...but if I ever see you in Brotherhood territory ever again, you will be gunned down without question. The same goes for you, Danse." 

“Understood. Thank you for believing in me, Arthur.” Danse smiled, 

“Don't mistake my mercy for acceptance...the only reason you two are still alive...is because of her…” Maxson pointed at Nora who gave a coy smile. 

“I'll meet you back on “The Prydwen”, Knight. We still have “The Institute” to deal with.” He then turned and headed back to the Vertibird. 

Nora turned to the two of them. “I'll see you guys later.” She then turned and left. 

Both Danse and Chelsea stood there in silence. Chelsea nervously rubbed her arm. She turned to face him. 

“Danse-.” 

 

"I can't believe that you lied to me.” Danse said coldly, “I thought that maybe you were different than everyone else, but you were only trying to get information about us...I completely misjudged you…”

Chelsea sadly approached him. “Danse, please let me explain…” 

“You told me that you changed, that you were starting to see that the Brotherhood was not as bad as you thought it was, you said that people like Haylen and Rhys were your friends…

...You told me that you cared about me…” 

“I do care about you.” Chelsea said, “and of course Haylen and Rhys are my friends. Being in a different organization doesn't change that.” 

Danse whirled around to face her. “How can I believe you? You lied about being a Scribe. Was everything else that you told me lies as well?” 

Chelsea held her hand up in defense. “No! Danse I would never…..look...I never wanted to do the mission, but they forced me into it...it's just like when you were forced to kill me…but you went against Maxson’s orders. It's exactly the same thing.” 

“No it’s not. I wanted to fulfill my mission for the Brotherhood, I wasn't going to let Maxson down!”  
Danse rebutted, 

Chelsea sighed. “...Danse, you’ve been Maxson’s puppet from the very start. You never have any thoughts of your own, all you and the other soldiers care about is what he thinks.” 

“Because he's our leader, Chelsea! He knows what’s best for us!” Danse retaliated, 

“Danse! He just tried to have you killed just because of who you are! If he really knew what was best for you, if he respected you like he did before he knew the truth, then he would have spared you! It wouldn't matter. You need to stop listening to him and have a goddamn mind of your own!” 

“...Why do you care so much about me if the Brotherhood doesn't mean anything to you?” Danse asked her seriously, 

“It's because I care about YOU…” Chelsea explained, 

Danse was confused, “...Me?” 

“Only you,” Chelsea replied, “I know it sounds crazy since we've only known each other for a little while, but I really do care about you...you're my best friend, with you, I feel that I can be me and you won't judge me for it. I would trust you with my life…” She took his hand. 

“...I love you…” She said, 

Danse’s eyes widened and his artificial heart stopped. He stared at her, his face going red. 

“Are you saying you’re...in love with me?” He said surprised, 

Chelsea smiled and nodded, 

“This doesn't make any sense. After all that's happened, how could you be in love with...well..a machine?” He asked her, 

Chelsea put her hands on his cheeks and looked him in the eyes. “Danse, that doesn't change anything. Remember what I told you? What I thought about synths? I think they're all human including you. You're human to me.” 

The synth just sighed. “I don't know, Chelsea...I don't think that-.” 

He was cut off when the raven-haired woman pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss. Danse’s eyes widened a lot while Chelsea’s cheeks turned red. She kissed Danse with all she had. He was hesitant but he kissed her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she put her arms around his neck and shoulders. They kissed passionately for a few minutes holding tightly to each other as a cool breeze blew through and a light snow began to fall. 

“I'm so sorry.” Chelsea apologized, she was crying. Danse said nothing and just rubbed and patted her back. Finally he replied, 

“It's okay, I forgive you.” He told her, 

Chelsea pulled away and smiled at him with tears of joy in her eyes. She kissed him again. When they pulled away to look at each other. Danse spoke up. 

“But what about “The Railroad”? What are they gonna say about you being with someone from the Brotherhood?” He asked, 

“Honestly, who cares what they think? It's my life, I do what I want. I'm the only one who can make decisions for myself, I do what my heart tells me...and my heart tells me to choose you.” 

“I'm also sorry.” He said,

“Sorry? What for?” Chelsea asked him, 

“You'll have to be patient with me. These new...human emotions are going to take some time to get used to. It's gonna be difficult for me, but I know that as long as we stick together, we can make it through anything.” He said, 

Chelsea just smiled at him and blushed some more. She embraced him in her arms once again. She didn't know what was coming, but the Railroad Agent knew that she didn't care about what was going to happen. All that mattered was that she had Danse by her side. It was no longer just her like it had been for years after she left “Little Lamplight”. It was now her and Danse. 

Now, it was them against the world.


	35. Chapter 34: The Fight Begins

Nora woke up in her bed feeling groggy. Her alarm clock was screaming at her to get up. She blindly reached her hand out and slapped the nightstand missing the alarm clock until her hand finally found it and slammed the button to turn it off. The Vault dweller just laid there heaving a sigh of exhaustion. She didn't really feel like getting up. 

Nora had spent the entire night tossing and turning trying so desperately to fall asleep to no avail. 

The whole: “Shaun being the leader of the Institute” thing was still hanging over her head and keeping her up at night. She still couldn't believe what had happened. It had been two weeks since she found him and got the whole truth about what went down back in Vault 111 and why “The Institute” decided to take him. Apparently they needed his pure unirradiated DNA to make synths. It was still so hard to wrap her head around. She was glad that she found him, she only wished that it could have been under better circumstances. Plus she was so busy with running The Minutemen and doing other work for both “The Railroad” and “The Brotherhood of Steel” that she didn't have much time to think about it all. 

The “Soul Survivor” gave a groan as she tossed her sheets aside and got up out of bed. Once she was standing, she stretched and let out a loud and long yawn then headed down the stairs to fix up a cup of tea for herself. She turned on the old stove and set the kettle full of water on opened the rusted refrigerator and pulled out a mutfruit and delicately plucked the leaves off and dropped them into the kettle. She stared blankly into the kettle as the leaves dissolved into the water causing it to turn a brownish purple color. 

Her guilt was getting the best of her. She wasn't feeling guilty because she felt responsible for Shaun’s kidnapping and him turning out the way he was. It was because she knew that she was going to have to betray him. As much as she still loved him, she just couldn't let his actions continue. She had to do what mothers do best: Stop their child from making a big mistake. She felt terrible mostly for she was turning her back on family, and that was something that she was taught to never do. But this time it was different, the entire fate of the Commonwealth depended on her. 

Stopping Shaun’s plans for the future was the only way to make things right again. 

When the tea was done boiling, she turned the stove off and poured some of the tea into an old teacup and sipped on it politely enjoying the feeling of the warm fruity water going down her throat. She smiled, she was starting to feel a lot better already. 

Just then, another tired figure came down the stairs. 

“Hey Nora.” The figure slurred,

Nora recognized the person’s voice and turned to them smiling. “Morning Juliet.” 

Juliet reached the bottom of the stairs and joined Nora in the kitchen. 

“What are you drinking?” Juliet asked her, 

“Mutfruit Leaf Tea. Want some? It'll perk you up.” Nora offered, 

Juliet picked up a clean mug from the counter and held it out. “Sure, thanks.” Nora poured the tea into her mug and the dirty blonde took a dainty sip as well. 

“How was your sleep?” Nora asked her, 

“I slept great. Thank you, ” Juliet smiled, “I’m really starting to like it here.” 

Nora smiled too. “I'm glad that you like it here. So, tell me, why did you come back with us?” She asked her, 

Juliet took another sip from her tea. “Well, it sure beat “Goodneighbor”, that's for sure. I love that place but sometimes it can be a bit too much.” 

Nora nodded, “I feel ‘ya. Where did you live?” 

“I stayed at “The Memory Den”. Irma let me stay and Amari gave me her bed while she slept in her basement lab.” 

Nora nodded again. “I see, any other reasons you came here?”  
“Well, I mostly came back for RJ. He said it would make him feel better if I was here within his sight and I just couldn't say no to him.” 

“You two are really close, huh?” Nora smirked, 

“Yeah, I'd do anything for him.” Juliet nodded, she was about to take another sip of her tea when she glanced up and noticed the brunette’s smirk. 

The dirty blonde’s cheeks turned red as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Don't get the wrong idea about us. We’re not like that, we’ve just been friends for a long time.” 

She was lying, that was no longer true. 

She and MacCready were truly an item. They had confessed their true feelings for one another and were now together as a couple. Neither of them had told anyone else yet, however. Given everything that was going on, they both figured that it was best to keep the whole “relationship” thing under wraps until they felt that it was the right time to break the news. 

The reason for this was because they were both still having trouble wrapping their heads around the situation themselves. After years of being “just friends”, both the sword fighter and the mercenary were still getting used to it all. It was new territory for the both of them. 

The lie seemed to work, however, for Nora just shrugged and went back to sipping her tea. 

Suddenly, the door to the women's house opened and in stepped MacCready already dressed for the day. The only thing missing was his hat. He still looked tired himself. 

Both girls noticed him. 

“Hey RJ!” Nora said brightening up, 

He smiled tiredly. “Hey Nora.” He replied, his voice was still roughed a bit by sleep. He looked past her to the very dirty blonde. He smiled. “Hey Jules.” 

Juliet smiled back and blushed luckily without Nora noticing. 

“Morning.” She said simply, 

“What do you need, RJ?” Nora asked him, 

“Nothing really. Just came to tell you that Preston needs you for something.” He replied, 

Nora groaned, “Ugh...ANOTHER settlement mission!?” Normally she didn't mind them too much, but lately they were piling up and becoming too much for her. 

“I don't know what it is, he just said that he needs to see you.” MacCready shrugged. 

Nora sighed. “Alright then.” She then left the house leaving the other two alone. 

“What do you think Preston wants to see her about?” Juliet asked him, 

The mercenary gave her his cocky grin. “He doesn't.” He said, 

“Wait, then why did you tell Nora that-?” Juliet stopped mid-sentence. She suddenly caught on to what MacCready was telling her. She smiled as she blushed. “...RJ...you sly dog.” She giggled, 

“I know,” He joked, he walked up to her and put his right hand on her left cheek. The red in her cheeks returned and she gave him a goofy grin. 

He smiled lovingly at her. “Morning beautiful.” He teased her, 

“Morning handsome.” She teased right back, she rested her forehead against his as he put his arms around her waist pulling her closer. 

“You look beautiful today.” MacCready replied, 

“No way, I’m a mess.” She laughed, 

“A very attractive mess.” He said, 

Juliet rolled her eyes and lifted her head to look him in the eye. “You cocky son of a-” She was cut off when he kissed her. Her eyelids instantly dropped and she completely melted in his arms. She snaked her arms around him and moaned as she pressed her fingers into his back kissing him harder. 

The mercenary moaned against her mouth and deepened the kiss as well. He tightened his embrace on her and moved a hand up to entangle his fingers into her already messy borderline brunette locks. 

The ex-mayor let out a sigh kissing him back with all the love that she had. She pressed her thumbs into his spine and rubbed them gently. Then she opened her eyes for a moment and smiled into the kiss. He finally knew that she was in love with him, and she was going to take every opportunity to show him just how much. 

The kiss lasted for about a half a minute until they broke apart to look at each other. The dirty blonde rested her head on his shoulder causing him to do the same thing. 

“It sucks that we can only have short moments like this together.” Juliet told him, 

“I know. Should we tell everyone? It sure would make things a hell of a lot easier.” MacCready asked her, 

Juliet sighed. “I don't know...maybe? I think we need a little more time.” 

“I agree.” MacCready nodded, 

Juliet then pulled away from him. “Well, I should be getting ready for the day, and you should be heading off to do whatever job Nora has ready for you.” She said, 

MacCready was a little saddened by this, but he nodded. “You're right. I'll see you when I get back.” He told her, he said it as if he were making her a promise. 

Out of nowhere, Juliet decided to surprise him with a kiss on the cheek. That caused his eyes to widen. 

“Good luck out there.” She said,

He blushed some and smiled again. “Thanks Jules, I'll see you later…” He then turned to leave the house. 

“Hey.” Juliet spoke up, 

MacCready turned to her again with a quirked eyebrow. “Yeah?” He said confused, 

“...I love you…” She blushed, 

His face turned slightly red as he gave her a goofy grin. “Love you too…” He winked, and with that, he left. 

Juliet watched him go and then turned and headed back up the stairs to her room to get ready for the day. She pulled on some faded jeans and a “The Unstoppables” themed T-shirt. She brushed out her messy blonde borderline brown hair and then headed back out of her room as the rest of the settlement was just getting up. She headed to her job that Nora had given her. 

Taking inventory. 

As she headed over to the modest storage facility that had recently been built, she passed by Piper who was walking and writing in her notepad at the same time. 

“Hey Piper.” Juliet smiled, 

The spunky reporter looked up from her notes and flashed a sincere smile at the dirty blonde. “Oh, hey Juliet. What's up?” She replied, 

“Just going to check inventory. What are you doing here?” Juliet asked her, 

“Actually, I was wondering where Preston was. I needed to ask him about something. Have you seen him?” Piper asked,  
“Uh, usually he's at the front gate on guard duty first thing since he has the morning shift, but I'm not sure.” Juliet answered, 

“Oh, thanks.” Piper winked, she then turned and took off running towards the front gate. Juliet watched her go and then headed into the storage. 

Piper ran to the front gates of Sanctuary. It was a lot more fortified now since she was last there. It was no longer just a gate with turrets, now there were sturdy walls and a fenced platform that that went around the entire settlement so Minutemen could stay alert from all directions. Guard posts and turrets were lined up all around. 

She looked at the guard posts hoping to see Preston standing at one of them. It didn't take her long to spot him. He was standing guard like Juliet said, laser musket in hand, he looked like he was tired but was trying to stay alert. 

The ebony-haired reporter approached the guard post and whistled to Preston hoping to get his attention. 

He heard the whistle and turned to see her standing there. 

He smiled instantly upon seeing her. 

“Piper. Hey.” He said nicely, 

“Hey Garvey. Could you come down here? I need to ask you something.” Piper replied, 

Preston nodded. “Sure.” He came down the wooden steps and joined the reporter on the ground. 

“So, what do you need?” He asked her, 

“Well, since Blue managed to find a way into “The Institute”, the whole Commonwealth’s been in a bit of a tizzy.” She replied, 

“But what does that have to do with us? She built the teleporter with the Brotherhood.” Preston pointed out, 

“Yes, but because she's been getting recognized more as the General of The Minutemen, The Minutemen are getting more attention.” Piper explained, 

“Wait, won't the Brotherhood be angered by this?” Preston said suddenly worried, 

“The Brotherhood still has credit for building the teleporter so I don't think they really care about The Minutemen. But that's not the reason why I'm here.” Piper said, 

“Then why are you here?” Preston raised an eyebrow, 

“Well, I figured that since you guys have been bringing yourselves back from the brink and making the Commonwealth a better place, I figured that it would only be fitting to write an article of your quick comeback.” Piper smiled with a wink, 

Preston smiled. “Sure, why not. It could be a great opportunity to also spread our message to the Commonwealth and let a lot more people know about our mission.” 

“Okay then, come on, let’s start our interview in The Minutemen house.” Piper motioned for him to follow her to the yellow house at the center of the ruined town. Once there, they managed to each make a spot on the worn out red couch. Piper dusted off her seat before she sat down. She got her notepad ready. She proceeded to ask Preston a boat load of questions. Questions about the Quincy Massacre and the fight in Concord where they met Nora to name a few. 

The reporter tended to notice that some of the details that about the Concord battle were different to what Nora told her and the kids of Vault 81 when she volunteered to be a guest speaker for the class. It was now blatantly obvious that Nora exaggerated to the kids for dramatic effect. 

Piper rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, Blue…’ She thought, 

Eventually the interview was almost finished. It was just missing one more thing. 

“Okay Preston. Have any final words that you would like to tell the Commonwealth?” She asked him, 

“Tell the people of the Commonwealth that The Minutemen WILL prevail and we won't fall apart again. If we just keep doing what we’re doing, then we’ll be able to take back the Commonwealth together.” 

Piper stopped writing and closed her notepad. She smiled at Preston. “There we go, good note to end on, Garvey. Well, that should be enough to put in the next issue. Thanks Preston. This will definitely give our readers something to talk and think about.” 

The leader of The Minutemen just smiled back at “Diamond City” ‘s number one troublemaker. “It's no problem, Piper. I appreciate that you care enough about The Minutemen and our cause to spread the word.” 

“Hey, I like printing the truth. Besides, you guys mean a lot to Blue. She's my friend so it's important to me too.” Piper replied, 

The two just continued to smile and ended up losing themselves in each other’s eyes. But they were snapped out of it by the sound of the turrets going off and Minutemen shouting. 

“We got Raiders! Incoming!”


	36. Chapter 35: Helping Hands

The quiet town of “Sanctuary” was being rattled by an unfriendly gang of Raiders. Turrets were firing, guns were blazing, Minutemen and settlers were shouting as they fired their weapons. It was a big gang this time. They came charging in full force, some Raiders even went so far as climbing over the walls and busting through the gate. 

Nora climbed into her T-45 Power armor now carrying a Combat Shotgun. She fired at some of the oncoming Raiders. The loud bangs rung through the air and she was happy to find that she had managed to shoot a few dead. 

“Ugh! If only I hadn't sent MacCready out on that job. We really need him here.” She said to herself, 

Preston cranked up his Laser Musket and fired at the intruders coming in from the West side of the settlement. Piper shot one up close with her 10mm Pistol causing its blood to splatter everywhere, she was unfazed however. She had seen worse. 

Cait swung her baseball bat like a crazy woman and was taking out just as many Raiders as Nora and Preston were. 

She saw one coming at her with a pipe pistol raised high above his head ready to strike her down but she was too quick for him. She smirked and moved off to the side and swung her bat hitting the man hard in the back and grabbed his pistol from him while he was on the ground. She stood over him, ready to give him a kill blow to the head. 

She smirked as she beat the bat in her hand. “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like a blind cobbler’s thumb?” Then she smacked the bat hard on his head badly cracking his skull. 

Although they were fighting the Raiders off pretty well, a lot of The Minutemen were still falling. While some were still fighting, others like Piper were taking the injured off to the medical facility where Curie was seeking refuge with Doc Anderson and the other medics that worked in the settlement. 

MacCready was coming back from his mercenary job that Nora had given him to do. Upon reaching the Red Rocket station was now being used as a small base/trading post for “The Minutemen”, he heard the gunshots and the screams from up the way that “Sanctuary” was. 

His eyes went wide. “We’re under attack?” He said confused, 

The mercenary suddenly felt a huge wave of anxiety come over him as he thought about his friends. Nora, the others…

His heart stopped. 

‘Juliet…’ 

He took off running towards “Sanctuary” not even thinking about the danger or the risks anymore. He had to help them and make sure that Juliet was okay. 

“I won't lose her again.” He said to himself as he got closer to the place. He ran through the gates and began helping Nora and Preston shoot the Raiders that were still coming through. At the same time, he frantically looked around for the dirty blonde. 

“Juliet! Juliet!?” He yelled above the noise, “Where are you!?” Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw his girlfriend sword fighting against another Raider in one of the house’s front lawns. 

Both women were battling it out. Pushing their blades against each other trying to see who could disarm the other. As the masked psycho woman pushed away and swung her long sharp blade at her, Juliet ducked and thrusted the sword straight through the woman’s stomach. The Raider cried out in pain as Juliet pulled her now bloody sword out. The Raider fell to the ground and died. 

She looked up and saw MacCready standing there across the street from her. She smiled and ran across the street to be with him. 

At this point, the last of the Raiders had been killed and “Sanctuary” was safe for another day. The Minutemen that were still standing were either celebrating their victory or were still in shock from the random attack. 

“Juliet, are you okay!?” MacCready asked her worried, 

Juliet smiled at him. “I'm fine, RJ. Really-!” She was cut off when he threw his arms around her and held her tight. She was surprised by this. 

“I was worried about you! I thought the Raiders had gotten you.” He told her, 

“RJ, stop it. I'm fine. I can hold my own.” Juliet assured him, 

He pulled away to look at her. “I’m sorry, it's just that I already lost you once, I'm not losing you again.” MacCready explained, 

“Dude, you never lost me. When you thought I was dead, I was never in trouble to begin with, remember? It was fake.” Juliet reminded him, 

“Yeah, but it was me thinking you were dead that made me wake up and realize how much you mean to me. How much I love you.” He said sounding really emotional, 

Juliet felt her heart melt when she heard him say that. If other people weren't standing around, she would've kissed him. But she just hugged him instead. 

Nora approached them still in her Power Armor. “MacCready, thank God that you made it back in time to help.” She said thankfully, 

MacCready smirked at her with an arm around Juliet. “Hey, I couldn’t let you guys have ALL the fun.” He joked, 

Preston lowered his Laser Musket and turned to Nora. “I think that was the last of them. Nice work, General.” He complimented her, 

Nora smiled from beneath her helmet. “Hey, nothing like taking out a few Raiders to start the day.” 

“Well, we were lucky to have you here. If you were gone who knows what would have happened.” Preston replied, he then turned to a fellow Minuteman who was helping a settler drag another injured Minuteman to the medical facility. 

“Captain Marshall, what’s the damage?” He asked him, 

“The turrets have only been minorly affected from the attack, they can be easily repaired.” Marshall answered, 

The leader of “The Minutemen” nodded, “and how are we on casualites?” He continued, 

“Garvey, I’m afraid we just barely won this time. No one died but a lot of our soldiers have been badly injured.” Marshall replied shaking his head, 

“How many?” Preston asked concerned, 

“About a couple dozen, but we’re not so sure yet,” Marshall replied, “We’re still getting people to the medics. They’re most likely going to get backed up. 

Everyone else’s eyes widened at that response. 

Nora was glad that she was still in her Power Armor so the others couldn’t see how surprised and saddened she was. This was not good. If they were going to bounce back from this, then they were going to think of something, and fast. 

Her friends were all looking to her waiting for an answer. 

“Meeting. “Red Rocket. Now.” She said, 

The entire gang left “Sanctuary” and headed down the way towards Red Rocket. Luckily, for them “The Railroad”’s best agent, Deacon and Private eye, Nick Valentine, were already there when they noticed them all show up. 

“Guys, what are you doing here?” Deacon asked surprised yet happy to see them, 

“Oh Deacon, Nick, thank God you’re here,” Nora said, she gestured to the inside of the old gas station. “Come inside with us, we have something very important to discuss.” 

The nine of them entered the Red Rocket and went straight to what used to be the garage. It was mostly cleaned out and some of the work stations were taken to “Sanctuary” for “The Minutemen” to use. Now filling the room was a rather large table and a bunch of chairs around it. 

Each person or synth in Nick’s case took a seat at the table while Dogmeat decided to make himself comfortable in the large pet bed that Nora had found for him. 

“So, what’s this all about?” Deacon spoke up, 

“There was a Raider attack today in “Sanctuary,” Nora explained, “We won the battle but we also managed to gain a lot of wounded men in the process. Now we're in very short in numbers. If we're going help the Commonwealth and stop “The Institute”, then we're gonna need a LOT more help.” 

“She’s right,” Preston cut in, “We need more recruits. Anyone know people or have some plan that can help us?” 

Everyone began to think while the Vault dweller looked around hoping that one of them could come up with something. 

Piper spoke up. “Well, perhaps some of the people from “Diamond City” would like to join up.” 

Nick snickered, “You really think those people will want to help us?” He asked her, 

Piper nodded, “Yeah, I mean, it's like I told Preston, “The Minutemen” are regaining their popularity fast. The residents are starting to talk about them a lot more. I'm sure that there would be some volunteers.” 

Nora nodded, “Okay, that's an idea. Anyone else?” 

Then MacCready thought of someone. 

“What about Chelsea? She's in the Commonwealth.” He suggested, 

Juliet nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Chelsea would most certainly help us!” 

“Hold up, I've heard a bit about her. Isn't she part of “The Railroad”?” Preston asked,

Deacon shot a glare at the Minuteman. “Yeah. So?” He said offended, 

“Don't worry, “The Minutemen” and “The Railroad” are very close allies. Plus she's a top agent, she'll be perfect.” Nora replied, 

“Okay, we’ll have to contact her.” Juliet said, 

“I can write to our Lamplight friends in the Capital Wasteland, they'd be more than happy to help.” MacCready spoke up, 

“Maybe we can even get Danse to join. He's so dedicated.” Nora beamed, “Okay, anyone else?” 

Juliet thought hard for a minute until one other person crossed her mind.

“Ooh! RJ and I know someone else!” 

Nora perked up at the dirty blonde’s giddiness. “Really? Who?” She asked her, 

“Let me write him first, see if he will come and help us…” Juliet explained, 

Nick smirked and leaned back in his chair. “and so all other warriors team up to take on Goliath.” He said monologuing like he normally did. 

Nora nodded. “Okay then, whom should we call first?” 

The morning was quiet at “Listening Post Bravo”. But the peace was instantly disturbed by the sound of a communicator loudly echoing it's annoying beeps throughout the still empty bunker. 

Danse was sleeping soundly on a mattress on the floor since he couldn't find enough materials to build a bed yet, when he heard the communicator go off. He groaned and turned over in his sleep putting his pillow over his head to block out the beeping. When that didn't work, he slammed the pillow back on the mattress and pulled the covers over his head desperately wanting more sleep. 

When he was in The Brotherhood, he was a pretty early riser, usually woke up before the sun even came up. But ever since he was kicked out, the ex-Paladin became rather tired easily and slept in later than before. It actually felt kind of nice. It was definitely something that he was going to like getting used to. 

Suddenly he felt something that was lying next to him turn over groaning tiredly. 

“Who’s calling?” A voice asked, it belonged to a female. Her voice was a little high pitched and robust but also had a sweetness to it. Right now, it sounded tired and roughed by sleep. 

Danse lowered the blankets from over his head and groggily reached over to grab the communicator from the bag that was kept beside the mattress. “I don't know, but I'm guessing that it’s most likely for you…” He replied, he pressed the answer button on the device and listened for the caller’s voice. 

“Chelsea?” A male voice came through the speakers, “Chelsea are you there? It's Deacon.” 

Danse handed it over to the woman lying next to him and she took it and sat up brushing some of her messy raven hair out of her face. 

Chelsea tiredly spoke into walkie-talkie like device. “Yeah, I'm here, Deacon. What do you want?” 

“We need you here at “Sanctuary” It’s important.” Deacon replied, 

Chelsea sighed as she rubbed her eyes with her thumb and finger. “Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can…” She then pressed the button on the communicator to turn it off and groaned as she laid back down on her side of the mattress. She turned on her side and wrapped her thin but sturdy arms around Danse’s muscular body. “Ugh, I really don't feel up to this today. I was hoping I could sleep in late.” She whined, 

Danse turned over to face her. He put his hand on her cheek. “If it's important, then you'd better get going.” He told her, 

Chelsea sighed defeated. “Alright.” She then kissed him passionately on the lips and threw her blankets to the side and began to pull her jeans on. She threw on her ripped brown brawler as well and fixed up her messy black hair pulling it up into her usual ponytail. She kissed Danse one more time before heading off towards “Sanctuary”. 

About a half hour later, she reached the town. She was rather surprised and uncomfortable by the sight of dead bodies that still littered the place. She looked around wondering where everybody was. 

“Chelsea!” A familiar voice called out, 

The raven-haired woman turned to see Juliet running up to her with MacCready at her side. She smiled wide upon seeing them. 

“Juliet! RJ!” Chelsea yelled back, she ran towards them as well and wrapped the dirty blonde in a tight hug. 

“It's been awhile since I last saw you!” Chelsea commented, 

Juliet pulled away to look at her. “I know! I haven't seen you since I got here. Where were you?” Juliet asked her, 

“I was doing work for “The Railroad”. I had to go undercover and find out as much as I could about “The Brotherhood of Steel”.” She answered,

Juliet’s eyes widened upon hearing that. “What? You had to go undercover? Wasn't that dangerous?” She asked her, 

“Yeah but I got the information I needed, sadly they found out about me being a spy. But the Elder decided to just let me go so that way the whole thing remained unknown.” Chelsea explained, 

Juliet nodded. “Makes sense.” 

Chelsea then let go of her best friends and proceeded to hug MacCready who was more than happy to hug the Railroad Agent. 

“Hey Mac n’ Cheese!” She said teasingly, MacCready was in too good of a mood to be bothered by her little pet name for him. 

“Hey Chels. Good to see ‘ya.” He replied giving her back a pat.” 

“Right back at ‘ya,” Chelsea winked, “So, Deacon said that I'm needed here. What's going on?” 

“We need your help, Chelsea. We were attacked and a lot of our Minutemen were badly injured. The medical facility is more crowded than ever. We need replacements, and we were hoping that you could be one of them.” Juliet explained, 

Chelsea took a minute to absorb all that Juliet had told her. She was definitely flattered that they wanted her help. After a minute she smiled and nodded. “Okay, I'll help.” 

“Perfect. Come on inside the house. We're contacting more people as we speak.” MacCready told her, 

The three of them entered the yellow house that belonged to “The Minutemen”. Inside, everybody else was sitting around talking and waiting for more people to respond to their calls. 

Deacon noticed her walk in. “Chels! There you are! The people back at headquarters were wondering where you've been.” He said happily, 

Chelsea instantly felt her heart stop. Her eyes widened and she blushed deeply as she bit her lip. “Oh yeah, uh...I've been bunking somewhere else. I managed to find a nice hideout nearby and I've started living there.” She said, she wasn't lying, she was telling the truth. However, the one thing she was leaving out was whom she was bunking with. 

“Makes sense.” Deacon shrugged, he then looked to Nora. “Anyone else coming?” 

“I managed to get a response from Danse. He's coming too.” Nora replied, 

The guilty look on Chelsea’s face and her blush seemed to show even more at the mention of the synth’s name. 

“Aww seriously! HE’S helping us!?” Deacon whined, “Why should we get help from a “Brotherhood Paladin!?” 

Chelsea was feeling more and more guilty by the minute. She hated lying to her friends, going against her organization and its rules, but she just couldn't tell them that she was with Danse now. Even if he was kicked out of The Brotherhood, they still wouldn't believe him. Hell, they'd probably kill him on sight. She couldn't lose him. They simply couldn't know. 

Juliet noticed the guilty look on her friend’s face but decided that it was not the best time and place to talk about it. So she kept her mouth shut. 

“Okay, well, we got soldier boy on our side now. MacCready, did you contact the Lamplighters?” Piper asked him, 

The mercenary nodded. “Yeah, I wrote them yesterday. I'm still waiting for a response.” 

“And I'm still waiting for our other friend.” Juliet added on, 

“Okay then. I think the chances are actually looking pretty good. The more we keep this up, the sooner we'll have more people and eventually we'll be able to forget this “minor setback”.” Nora told them, 

About a half hour later. Danse showed up in his power armor which was no longer his Brotherhood armor. That was now in Nora’s possession. 

The Soul Survivor was thrilled to see the ex-Paladin again. 

“Danse! Good to see you!” She said running up to him eagerly, Juliet, MacCready, and Chelsea followed behind her. 

Danse smiled at the girl. “Good to see you too, Nora.” He then noticed the mercenary and the dirty blonde. 

He got a deadpanned look. “Hello MacCready.” 

MacCready gave him a dirty look. “Danse…” Was all he said, 

Juliet smiled at the synth. She stuck out her hand for him to shake it. “Hi Danse, I'm Juliet. Nice to meet you.” She said kindly, 

Danse smiled again and happily shook her hand. “Likewise, Juliet.” 

Then he noticed Chelsea. She looked at him sadly and desperately. They both remained silent. 

Nora spoke up again. “Come on, Danse. Come into the house and we’ll give you the lowdown on what's going on.” She then led him off to the yellow house. Chelsea stared after him while MacCready and Juliet followed close behind. After a minute, Chelsea followed too. 

A few days later, a stranger wandered their way into “Sanctuary”. It was a man in his late twenties most likely twenty nine. He had chestnut hair and hazel eyes and a chiseled face. He also had a nice build. The man was clad in jeans and a leather jacket. He walked into the town looking around admiring the place. 

“Hm...looks nicer than the Capital Wasteland.” He commented, he walked further into the town until two familiar figures caught his eye. 

Juliet, MacCready were talking to Nora when they turned and noticed him. 

Juliet’s face lit up like a kid’s at Christmas. “Albert!” She yelled happily from the top of her lungs, she ran to him and practically threw herself onto him hugging him tightly. 

Albert hugged her back. “Jules! So good to see you, sister from a different mister!” He said jokingly, 

MacCready approached the man as well. “Albert, good to see you, Mungo.” He smiled, 

Albert smiled back at the mercenary. Juliet let go of him and the two men shared a bro hug. “RJ, good to see you too, old friend.” 

Nora cleared her throat reminding the three friends of her presence. 

She beamed. “Juliet, RJ, care to introduce me to your friend?” She asked them, 

“Oh yeah,” Juliet laughed, “Nora, this is Albert. He's our friend from the Capital Wasteland that we told you about.” 

Nora smiled and shook Albert’s hand. “Very nice to meet you, Albert. I'm Nora.” 

Albert winked. “Pleasure. But, back home, they call me “The Lone Wanderer”...”


	37. Chapter 36: Things Are Looking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to see a new character here. One created by my brother ^^

As the weeks went on, things were starting to look up. Doc Anderson and the other doctors were able to treat all of the casualties from the Raider attack under Curie’s direction. To make things even better, the damage that was done to “Sanctuary” was also getting fixed thanks to Sturges and some of the other settlers who were handy with that sort of thing. 

Piper finally published the article with Preston’s interview in “Publik Occurrences” and also added an ad about joining “The Minutemen” that described the situation and said that whoever read it were to go to “Sanctuary” if they were interested. After that issue was released to the people of the Commonwealth, “Sanctuary” was getting flooded with people who were willing to volunteer. Nora and Preston were overwhelmed with joy. 

Then there was Juliet and MacCready’s friend Albert from the Capital Wasteland. 

He was very smart that went without saying. Machines, botany, and medicine were his forte. With his help, they were able to upgrade the water purifiers, make a better fertilizer for their crops, and improve the turrets so they were more durable. 

Albert was also highly skilled in combat. Everyone was impressed by how diligent and productive he was, they were glad that he was on their side. He was so incredibly gifted, that Preston offered him to handle some settlement missions since Nora was so swamped with them. He happily agreed. 

The famed “Lone Wanderer” was walking around the platform at the gate to the large settlement. It was his turn on sentry duty and he stood guard Laser Musket in hand awaiting whatever dared to come through the gates and attack them. 

Then there was a cold gust of wind that went through. He shivered and was quite surprised that it was early to mid January and yet, there was no snow on the ground. 

This intrigued him. ‘Maybe I'll study this strange climate phenomena.’ He thought to himself, 

He was so busy that he didn't notice Danse walk up to him. 

“Albert.” He spoke up, 

Albert snapped out of his daze. He turned to the ex-Paladin. “Oh, yeah, sorry Danse. I was kinda out of it for a second. What's up?” He asked, 

“It's my turn for sentry duty.” Danse replied, 

“Oh, yes, of course. Well then, the floor is yours.” Albert then stepped to the side and let Danse stand guard. Albert headed down the wooden steps and went off to do something else. 

Danse stood there, his focus sharp and his Laser Rifle at the ready. He wouldn't break his focus for anything. 

“Danse.” 

A familiar female voice snapped him out of focus. He turned to see Chelsea standing behind him. 

Well, anything except for Chelsea. 

She smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey.” She cooed, 

He smiled back. His look was soft, that was the look that Chelsea loved to see the most. Sure, she loved his combative and disciplined side, but she loved his sentimental side even more. 

“Hey Chelsea.” He replied, 

She took a step towards him. “What’cha doing?” She asked him, 

“I'm on sentry duty.” He answered, 

“Oh, sorry. I'll just talk to you when you're not busy.” She said turning to leave, 

He stopped her. “No no, it's okay. I can spare a minute for you.” 

Chelsea turned to him again. “Okay.” 

“What's up?” Danse asked her, 

“I just wanted to see you.” She smiled and winked, 

Danse laughed lightly. “Chels, you really are one of a kind.” 

The raven-haired woman blushed. “Thanks.” 

The two got closer to one another. Chelsea leaned in but stopped and smirked up at him. He smirked back. He knew what the problem was. 

Danse towered over her in the Power Armor which he almost always wore. Whenever he wore it, Chelsea found it quite difficult to kiss him. 

Not saying anything, Danse knelt down so he and the Railroad Agent were face-to-face. Chelsea blushed a lot and kissed him on the lips. The synth’s entire face flushed red and she pulled away gleaming showing all of her white teeth. 

But it was then that they noticed Deacon from another guard post turning to see them standing there together. Danse instantly straightened up while Chelsea just gave him a sad look and silently waved goodbye. Then she turned and left. Danse returned to his position feeling sorrow that they couldn't be together within the eyes of one of her peers. 

Chelsea walked into the house where the women stayed. She entered the kitchen and began making a cup of tea for herself. 

Juliet approached Chelsea and leaned against the kitchen table. “Hey, is something wrong?” She asked her, 

Chelsea looked at her best friend like she was insane. “What are you talking about?” 

“Well, you're acting funny, and when Danse showed up you got even weirder. Something bothering you?” Juliet asked her, 

Chelsea blushed and looked down at the ground ashamed. “Remember that Paladin that almost killed me?” She asked, 

“Chelsea, you're a top agent of “The Railroad”, pretty much everyone in the Brotherhood has tried to kill you.” 

“No Jules, I’m talking about the one that spared me.” She said, she then pointed at Danse. “That's him.” 

“Danse? Danse is the one that spared you?” Juliet said surprised, 

“Yeah, also, remember how I said I went undercover for “The Railroad”? Well, I was sent to work with his team and we got to know each other and now we're friends. I don't want Deacon or the others in “The Railroad” that I’m friends with the enemy.” She explained,

The dirty blonde noticed the blush on the raven-haired girl’s cheeks. 

She smirked. “Nooooo…..there's something else…” She said teasingly, “Are you two...together?” 

Chelsea looked even more embarrassed than before. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and replied, “Um...yeah?” She gave her friend a sheepish smile. 

Juliet smiled proudly folding her arms across her chest. “I knew it.” 

“Yeah, but can you please not tell anyone. I REALLY don't want my friends at “The Railroad” to know…” 

Juliet sighed, “You're not the only one who has this problem…” She said hopelessly, 

Chelsea got a confused look. “How come? What's the matter?” She asked her friend, 

Juliet nervously twirled her hair around her finger. “Uh...well...RJ and I...We’re kinda...together…” She admitted, 

Chelsea’s eyes widened. “Wait, so you guys are like...DATING?” 

Juliet nodded, “I guess you could say that.” 

“No kidding! Who made the first move?” Chelsea asked her, 

Juliet smiled and blushed. “I guess me...I mean, I was the one that said that I loved him first. I was scared, I wasn't sure how he'd react, but wouldn't you know it, he ended up loving me back.” 

“See? Didn't I tell you? All you had to do is tell him how you feel.” Chelsea teased, 

Juliet’s face then split into a goofy grin. “I know, you were absolutely right. The payoff was definitely worth the risk.” 

The raven-haired woman smirked, “Did you two kiss yet?” 

The dirty blonde’s blush deepened as she rolled her eyes. “Yes we have.” 

Chelsea awed. “Good for you two. I always knew that you'd make an adorable couple.” She elbowed Juliet in the arm. 

Juliet shoved her away laughing. “Stop it!” 

Chelsea laughed as well. Then her face went serious. “So, you haven't told anyone yet?” 

Juliet shook her head. “No. We figured with everything else that's going on. It wouldn't make much of a difference if people knew or not.” 

Chelsea folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “Still, it probably doesn't feel good to have to hide it from everyone.” 

“It isn't. It's torture.” Juliet replied, she sighed helplessly, 

“Believe me, I know.” Chelsea nodded, 

“Blue, another person responded to the ad.” Piper said, 

“Who?” Nora asked, 

“I don't know...he just says that he can be a valuable asset to us...he's a trained mercenary…” 

MacCready lifted his head at that, as did Juliet and a few other settlers. Nora looked intrigued yet suspicious. 

“...Is he coming to help us?” She asked, 

The reported looked down at the letter. “He says that he wants to meet with you at “The Extra Inning” restaurant in “Diamond City”.” She explained, 

“Oh yeah, that’s where I worked when I first came here,” Juliet spoke up, “When Nora and RJ brought home here, I decided to only work there part-time.” 

MacCready quirked an eyebrow at her. “You worked in “Diamond City”?” 

Juliet nodded, “Yeah. I was a waitress.” Juliet nodded, 

“Well, if this guy says that he can really help us, then I should probably meet with him…” Nora told them, 

“Wait, Blue. That may not be very safe.” Piper stopped her, “I'll go with you.” 

“And we’ll go too.” MacCready spoke up for him and Juliet, 

The “Soul Survivor” flashed a smile at them. “Okay then, let’s go.” 

The four friends sat in a booth at the large restaurant waiting for the mercenary to show up. But the waiting was over when they noticed a man in leathers and a jacket walk over to their table. He was a man about their age with a slightly strong build and glasses. He had brown hair and a beard with brownish hazel irises. His armor and his weapons were strapped to him. 

“Hi.” Nora said uneasily, 

The man gave a wave. “Hello.” He said, his voice was deep but not too much. 

“...Are you the one that we’re here to see…?” Piper asked him, 

“You bet.” The man replied, 

Nora cleared her throat and gestured to the seat across from her where Juliet and MacCready were already sitting. “Please sit down.” 

The man obliged and took a seat next to the mercenary and the swordfighter. MacCready’s defensive instincts kicked in and he put his arm protectively around Juliet and pulled her closer to him all the while giving the man a suspicious look. 

They all went silent for a minute, until Nora decided to break the silence. 

“So...you’re interested in becoming a Minuteman?” 

He nodded, “Yes ma’am.” 

“...and you're a mercenary…” 

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay, well, we’ll see if we need you…” Nora replied still suspicious, “Let's start with your name.” 

“It's Andrew, ma’am.” The man replied, 

Nora nodded, “Okay...Andrew...uh, how old are you?”

“I'm twenty three years old.” Andrew replied, 

“Oh, okay.” Nora said uneasily, 

MacCready suddenly cut in. “So wait a minute...you said you're a mercenary...I've never heard of you or seen you around the Commonwealth before…” He was eyeing Andrew suspiciously, it was obvious that he didn't trust him. 

“Yeah, well, I like to keep a low profile,” Andrew replied, “Don't want too many people on my back.” 

MacCready’s look softened a bit. “That's actually very smart thinking.” He said, 

Nora spoke up. “Now RJ, let's not badger him with superfluous questions. Let’s continue. Do you have a lot of combat experience?” 

Andrew nodded, “I do. I don't mean to brag, but I'm no stranger to combat.” 

“Good. Very good.” Nora said smiling, “Next question, would you give or risk your life to save someone else?” 

“Yes I would.” 

“Okay, I think we've heard enough. You're in. Welcome to “The Minutemen”.” Nora said kindly shaking his hand, 

Andrew smiled, “Thank you. This means a lot to me.” 

“Allow us to introduce ourselves, I'm Nora Taylor,” Nora gestured to Piper. “this is Piper Wright,” then she gestured to Juliet and MacCready. “and this is Juliet Weathers and Robert Joseph MacCready.” 

Andrew smiled at the other three people. “It's very nice to meet you all. Is it okay that I come to “Sanctuary” on Monday to start?” He asked her,

Nora now smiled bright, “Of course. It was nice meeting you.” 

The group of four exited “The Extra Inning” and walked towards the exit to “Diamond City”. 

“Well I think that went well.” Piper said, they walked past “Publik Occurrences” and Piper went to her front door. “See you later, guys.” She waved, then she opened the metal door and disappeared inside. 

Then Nora remembered something else. “Oh, guys. I just remembered, I have to pick up something in “Goodneighbor”...I'll meet you back at home.” 

“Oh okay, see you there.” Juliet replied, 

Both MacCready and Juliet made their way back to “Sanctuary”. They entered the gates and headed for the women's house. 

Juliet blushed. “Goodnight, RJ.” 

MacCready blushed as well. “Night, Juliet.” 

They both leaned in for a goodnight kiss. Their lips met and they pulled each other a lot closer. The sword fighter messed with the mercenary’s hair while his fingers against her lower back. When they broke off, they stared at each other for a moment before parting ways for the night. 

Nora was entering the gates of “Sanctuary” with a smaller figure walking by her side. It was a young boy about the age of five. 

“Wait, I'm going to live here?” The small boy said confused yet amazed at the same time, 

“This is going to be your home now.” She said kindly, 

They continued through the town. The boy looked around at his surroundings admiring almost everything in sight. 

The child then smiled down at the dark brown teddy bear in his left arm. 

“This is our new home, Seymour…”

Finally Nora saw MacCready walking towards the men’s house and smiled. 

‘There he is.’ She thought, she looked down at the boy. 

“There he is, honey. Go say hi to him.” 

The boy noticed the mercenary as well and a wide smile showed up on his face, his icy blue irises sparkled as if it were Christmas. 

He began to run towards him. “Daddy! Daddy!” 

MacCready stopped instantly recognizing that familiar voice. He turned to see the giddy child running towards him. In that one moment, he felt his whole world brighten up even more. 

“Duncan!”


	38. Chapter 37: Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready, something REALLY great is about to happen!!! ^^

“Duncan!” MacCready yelled to his son, 

The excited five year old ran straight to his father so eager to finally see him after months of just writing to him. 

MacCready knelt down on one knee arms outstretched as Duncan ran into his loving father’s arms. MacCready began to cry as he held his son tightly as if he'd lose him if he let go. 

“I missed you, dad!” Duncan said happily, 

MacCready sniffed. “I missed you too, buddy.” 

Nora smiled as she watched the happy reunion progress in front of her, she was happy that MacCready could be with his son again. She only wished that she could have the same for her and Shaun. 

MacCready pulled away smiling wide. “How is this even possible!?” He asked, 

“I sent for him. I wrote to your friend Janet in the Capital Wasteland and requested that she’d send him here. I figured you deserve to be with your kid.” Nora explained, she finished her statement with a smile and a wink. 

MacCready stood up and hugged Nora tight. “Nora, you're the best!” He turned back to Duncan. 

“And look! You're better!” He pointed out, 

Duncan nodded his head furiously, “Yeah! I got that cure and it made me all better! Look dad, my boils are gone and everything!” 

“I can see that. Hey Duncan, there's someone else here who would like to see you too.” MacCready told his son, 

“Really? Who?” Duncan asked confused, 

The mercenary took his kid over to the women’s house. They entered the large house-like structure and looked around. The lights were on adding a warm glow to the place. 

“She should be around here somewhere.” MacCready said looking around, as if on cue, Juliet came down the stairs. 

“RJ? Is that you? I thought I heard your voice-.” The dirty blonde stopped halfway down the stairs when she saw Duncan standing next to his father. 

Duncan’s eyes widened at Juliet. His jaw dropped and his bear fell to the floor. 

“Duncan?” Juliet said in disbelief, 

After a minute, Duncan’s face brightened up as tears filled his eyes. “Auntie Juliet!” He ran to her and she hustled down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she fell to her knees and Duncan threw his arms around her in a tight hug. Juliet began crying herself. 

“You're alive!” Duncan exclaimed, he started to cry. “I-I thought you were dead!” He sobbed, “J-J-Janet got th-the letter a-b-bout the attack and...and…”

“Shhh shhh shhh shhh...it's alright, Duncan...I'm here…” Juliet cooed to him softly, she gently stroked his hair as she held him safe in her arms. Duncan had a mighty hold on her not even daring to let go. Tears leaked from his eyes dampening Juliet’s pajama shirt. 

After a few minutes, Duncan decided to let go and finally smiled. “I'm glad that you're okay, Juliet. I really missed you…” He looked over and noticed his teddy bear was still on the floor from when he dropped him. He scrambled over and scooped him up and began stroking his fur and walked back over to Juliet. 

He smiled holding him up for her to see. “Seymour missed you too.” 

Juliet sniffled wiping the tears from her eyes and gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I missed you too, little dude.” 

After that nice moment, they moved Duncan to where he was going to be sleeping. Since MacCready had a room all to himself with an extra bed, they figured it would be more than fitting for Duncan to sleep there. MacCready also brought up that it would most likely be best to have his son near so he could protect him. After getting the kid settled in and put to bed, everyone decided to retire to bed as well. It seemed that things were improving rapidly, could things get any better than this?

**The Next Day:**

“General!” Preston said urgently, 

Nora was talking to Albert when she heard Preston’s call. She turned to him rather startled. “Preston!? What is it!?” She asked concerned, 

“It's terrible! Raiders have pillaged almost half of the settlements! They’ve taken hostages! Who knows what they'll do to them!” Preston explained, 

“What!? Well then I gotta help them.” Nora said, “What's their location?” 

“Last I heard, they were holed up in “Dunwich Borers”.” Preston replied, 

Nora nodded then looked over at a fellow Minuteman. 

“Grab my suit of Power Armor!” She ordered, 

The Minuteman saluted, “Yes General!” 

“No General! This is a much bigger gang than usual. You can't go it alone, it’d be a suicide mission!” Preston told her, 

“Alright then, who should I bring? Who's available?” Nora replied, 

Preston nodded, “I'm going, but we probably need a few more people.” 

“I'll help.” Albert volunteered, 

“I’ll go too!” MacCready said raising his hand up, 

“Me too.” Juliet said, 

The mercenary turned to his girlfriend surprised. “Juliet. I don't think that it's safe for you to tag along.” He said, 

The dirty blonde rolled her eyes. “Now RJ, just stop it. We’ve been over this. I can hold my own, okay? Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine, I can take out a few measly Raiders. Just trust me on this one.” She begged, she knew that he was scared of losing her again, but he was really starting to push the limit with his overprotective attitude. 

Nora spoke up. “She has proven herself worthy, RJ.” 

MacCready looked at her still unsure. But Juliet just gave him a begging and pleading look. His serious look softened a bit. He just couldn't say no to her. 

He sighed defeated, “Alright. You can come too, Jules.” 

She smiled, “Thank you.” 

At “Dunwich Borers”, the large gang of Raiders that Preston mentioned were walking around like they owned the place. Some of them were down at the very bottom, while others were at the very top. There were also a few chilling in the office. 

The ones at the bottom were terrifying three cages full of settlers. They hooted and hollered prancing around like savages. One settler was out of the cage and they were bound and gagged kneeling before the menacing Raiders. 

The supposed leader laughed. “Slaughter him.” He ordered, 

The settler’s eyes widened and he began to scream through the gag over his mouth. Another Raider raised his machete high above his head. Then in one quick move, he brought the machete down on the settler slicing his head clean off. The settlers in the cages jumped back startled and sickened by the sight. 

“Hahahahaha!!!!! You guys want to know something? This is the last place you'll ever see! ‘Cause we’re gonna kill you weak pathetic cowards!” 

The frightened people shook in their cages as the Raider began to circle the cages looking them over thoroughly. A sinister grin was plastered on his face. 

“You're the true cowards…” 

The Raider stopped. He turned to the cages now angry. “Who said that?” He hissed, 

One of the settlers got the courage to speak up. She stood She was a middle-aged most definitely in her early to mid fifties. Her smooth skin was marked with a few wrinkles, her emerald eyes were slightly faded and worn out, and her dirty blonde hair was greying with age. 

“I did.” She said bravely, 

The Raider leader approached the cage and got up close in the woman's face. 

“Another word out of you, and you and your husband will be next…” He threatened her, 

“No we won't. Because “The Minutemen” will help us. We're all supporters of their cause and they would never abandon us!” The woman retaliated, 

The Raider just laughed again. “Listen to this wench! She really thinks that “The Minutemen” will come and rescue them!” He said mockingly, the other Raiders proceeded to laugh along. “We knew that they'd be a threat, so we went to their base of operations in “Sanctuary” and wiped out most of their defenses. They can't help you now.” 

“You're wrong, they were able to bring themselves back from the brink before, they can do it again.” The woman replied, the man that was her husband stood up as well. His skin was also slightly wrinkled and his golden blonde hair was greying too. His deep sapphire eyes looked desperate as he started pleading to his wife. 

“Frankie, you'd better just sit down, dear.” He said calmly, he was obviously trying to shut his wife up so they wouldn't get killed. 

The woman known as Frankie looked to her husband seriously, “John, they can't treat us like this! They're just people too!” She retaliated, 

The Raider glared at her menacingly. “One more word out of your trap, and you’re DEAD!” He threatened, 

Frankie gasped suddenly afraid and just clung to her husband. 

The band of heroes ran for “Dunwich Borers”. They only hoped that they would make it in time. Soon enough, the big quarry was in sight. 

“There it is!” Albert yelled,

“We'd better hurry.” Preston followed, 

The five of them ducked behind the office trailer so they were out of the view of the Raiders. 

“Okay, so what's the plan?” MacCready asked them, 

Nora peeked her head out for a brief moment and noticed three Raiders standing not far from them. She turned back to the group. “Okay, I think I know what we can do. We split up. Albert and I will distract and take out the Raiders, RJ, Preston, and Juliet, you guys set the settlers free. Okay, go." 

The three nodded in understanding. 

Both Nora and Albert slipped out quickly, they began to open fire on the Raiders. The Raiders around them heard the attack and sprung into action. It wasn’t long before it became an full on shootout between Nora, Albert, and the Raiders. The “Soul Survivor” and the “Lone Wanderer” fired their weapons sending all of their ammo into the bodies and heads of the savage brutes. The Raiders fired back but their crude Pipe Pistols were simply no match for their weapons. Nora used her Combat Rifle while Albert used an old school 10mm Pistol from the Capital Wasteland. Evenautally the last one was shot dead and they figured that their job was done. Unbeknownst to them, one of the Raiders had made it out unscathed and tried to sneak up on Albert, Nora noticed the Raider standing behind him, Tire Iron raised high above his head, one strike in the head and Albert would most likely be killed. 

“Albert! Look out!” She screamed, she then raised her rifle and shot the Raider square in the forehead. The Raider fell to the ground and Albert turned to see what Nora had done. 

He then looked back to her. He smiled, “Thanks.” 

Nora smiled back, “No problem.” 

Meanwhile, Preston, Juliet, and MacCready ran down the stone pathways of the quarry desperately hurrying to reach the bottom. Raiders kept on getting in their way but Preston and MacCready had no trouble shooting their way through. Juliet, on the other hand, used her sword to make it through. They ran for the rusted metal steps and catwalks. The trapped settlers were in view. 

“There they are! Let’s go!” Preston yelled, he cranked up his Laser Musket and began to fire at the Raiders down below. The Raiders intimidating the settlers shot back up at them, but given the fact that both MacCready and Preston were excellent shots, the trio had the upper hand. 

Finally they made it to the bottom of the large ditch and the rescue immediately turned into a Raider massacre. MacCready shot the Raiders down without question while Preston watched his back. More and more Raiders fell by the minute. The settlers could only watch in both surprise and relief as their kidnappers were being taken down. 

Amidst the chaos, Juliet ran to the cages, in her hands a large rock that had been dug up in the quarry and smashed it against the locks breaking them. When the lock on the middle cage was busted, she opened the door and gestured to a nearby stairway. 

“Quick! Go that way!” She urged them, the settlers flooded out of the cage as they desperately ran to the way out. The last people she helped out were Frankie and John. They were shaken up. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe in “Sanctuary”.” She told them, 

“Wait, who are you?” John asked her,

Frankie looked at her odd for a moment. Suddenly her eyes widened and her mouth hung agape. 

“...Oh my God…” She whispered, she looked to her husband. “John...it’s her…” 

John’s eyes widened. He looked to Juliet surprised as well. 

“Oh my God. Frankie it IS her…” He said, 

Juliet’s eyes suddenly widened. John and Frankie? She recognized those names very well. 

“...Juliet…?” Frankie spoke up, 

Juliet was in shock, could this really be happening? 

“...Mom?...Dad?...”

Frankie shakily approched the dirty blonde. She put her hands on Juliet’s cheeks as tears filled her eyes. Juliet’s eyes began to well up as well. 

“...Juliet...Our little Juliet…” She said sobbing a bit, the middle aged woman threw her arms around the sword fighter holding her tight crying tears of joy. 

“You’re alive…” She cried happily, “...My baby girl…” 

Then John came over and began crying as well. 

“Our precious little Jewel…” He sobbed, he and Frankie pulled away to look at her for a moment. “Look at you, all grown up.” 

Juliet began to cry as well. She wrapped her arms around them as well crying into both their shoulders. She hadn’t seen her parents in forever, ever since they were separated when she was nine. When their house was attacked by the ferals, they told her to run and not look back. So she did. She ran for miles until she finally found “Little Lamplight”, what happened after that was ancient history. Her parents hadn’t changed one bit. The only difference was that they were a lot older than they were since she was younger. After years of being without them, she was finally reunited with her family. Juliet had forgotten what it felt like to have her parents being there for her. For the first time in years, all she wanted was for her parents to hold her. 

The now reunited family just stood there for a few minutes not daring to let go of one another. Her parents were obviously overjoyed, so much in fact that the word “overjoyed” would most likely be an understatement. They held on tighter to her than she did to them. The old married couple were just so happy that the most important person to them was alive and with them again. 

Frankie hummed as she stroked her daughter’s hair. “Our little Juliet…” 

“Juliet!” A familiar voice called out, Juliet turned her head and her parents looked past her to see MacCready run over. He looked worried but was relieved as soon as he saw his girlfriend and the two older adults. 

“Juliet! You’re okay! Thank God!” He said running over to her. He then took notice of Frankie and John. They just stared at him. 

He pointed at them. “Who are they?” He asked, 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Juliet cleared her throat. “RJ...This is my mom and dad…” She said nervously, 

The mercenary’s eyes widened upon hearing that. He froze up, he could nothing but stare at them. 

Juliet’s parents stared back at the boy curious as to who he was. 

“Anyway Juliet, Nora and Albert managed to get all of the settlers grouped up and we’re ready to take them back to “Sanctuary”.” He explained, 

“Oh, okay, there will be plenty of time for introductions when we get back to “Sanctuary”.” Juliet said, 

They joined the others back up at the top of the quarry and headed Westward for “Sanctuary”. Nora and Albert lead the way while Preston was tending to the scared settlers. John and Frankie stayed in the back with their daughter not wanting to let her out of their sight again. 

Juliet and MacCready walked awkwardly side by side, the mercenary noticed that John was occasionally glancing over at him suspiciously. He was intimidated by the middle aged man, he honestly never thought he'd see the day where he'd actually meet her parents. He was happy for Juliet that she had them back, but MacCready could tell that it was going to make their relationship a whole lot harder. 

Frankie noticed her husband’s dead stare and how it was making MacCready feel. So she decided to be the one to break the ice. 

“So Juliet, is this boy a friend of yours?” She asked her, 

Juliet snapped out of focus of looking ahead of her and looked to her mother. 

“Oh, yeah, right. Mom? Dad? This is my friend, RJ. He helped me out shortly after we were separated…” She explained, 

MacCready’s heart sank when he heard that. Friend? Did she just call him her friend?

Both of her parents were speechless when they heard that. Until John spoke up. “You...you saved her?”

MacCready shook off the uneasy feeling and flashed a cheesy smile the old middle aged couple. “Well, I wouldn’t say I “saved” her...I mean, I did help her out but…” 

“Don’t be so modest, RJ! You totally saved me! You were the one who let me into your settlement and protected me from danger.” Juliet smiled at him, 

Frankie suddenly smiled sincerely. “Well then, we thank you very much for looking out for her.” 

John gave a small smile too. “Yeah, you protected the most important person in our lives...our baby girl…we owe you her life for this…” 

“I appreciate it. Your daughter’s really special.” MacCready complimented, he gave the dirty blonde a look, she just giggled. 

MacCready laughed back and almost went in to kiss her but instantly stopped noting that her parents were standing right there and John was giving him the death stare again. 

The mercenary sighed. ‘This is going to be harder than I thought…’


	39. Chapter 38: Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a boring one. Sorry ^^;

Eventually the group made it back to “Sanctuary”. The settlers were tended to while the main four just split up. 

Juliet hugged her parents goodnight and promised them a tour the next day. They both gave her a kiss on the cheek and they headed off for the settlers’ shelter. 

The next morning, the settlers were ready to be escorted by Minutemen back to their settlements, the only two settlers that stayed behind were John and Frankie. They insisted that they stay with their daughter. 

Juliet walked through the settlement heading to her job when she saw MacCready talking to Nora and she smiled as a faint blush coated her cheeks. 

When Nora finally walked away, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a surprise hug. He was startled by her hug but was okay with it when he realized it was just her. 

“Hey.” She said flirting, 

“Hey.” He replied flirting back, 

“Let me guess. Nora has a job for you to do.” Juliet said, 

MacCready nodded. “Yeah.” 

Juliet sighed. “Well, good luck out there.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek when she noticed her father standing not too far away from them. He looked in their direction causing Juliet to pull away. 

The mercenary looked at her odd. “You okay?” He asked her, 

“Uh..yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.” She said nodding her head furiously, 

“...Okay, then…” MacCready tried to lean in and kiss her but she noticed that her father was now giving MacCready the evil eye. 

Juliet softly pushed him away and said, “You'd best get to your job.” She said hastily, 

Her boyfriend looked at her odd again. “...Okay, I guess?” Then he walked away as Juliet heaved a sigh of relief. 

Later on that day, Juliet was working her job in inventory again and Frankie offered to help. The dirty blonde assure her mother that it wasn't necessary, but Frankie wouldn't hear of it. 

“Okay, so that's about a dozen crates of tatoes, twenty jugs of purified water…” She said checking things off, 

“Fifty fusion cores, unused.” Frankie checked off, 

Juliet turned to her mother, “You know, mom, you really don't have to do this…” 

“Nonsense sweetie, I love helping you it's bringing us closer together.” Frankie assured her daughter, “...I feel like it makes up for the time that we were apart…” 

“I understand.” Juliet replied, 

Frankie smiled at her sadly, “Look at you, all grown up. You're not my little girl anymore...I wish things ended up different…” She started to look sad. 

“Mom...please don't do this…” Juliet said getting sad as well, 

“We shouldn't have abandoned you, we wanted to follow you but we didn't know where you went, and we thought you were...dead...we shouldn't have given up on you, I'm sorry.” She started to cry, 

“Mom, it wasn't your fault. You didn't abandon me, you had no idea where I went. Ferals attacked our house. You and dad were only trying to protect me. Don't apologize for that.” Juliet told her, 

Frankie smiled and wiped her eyes. “I know, I'm sorry. I just feel so horrible. So much time we lost, it's unfair.” 

Juliet nodded but smiled. “I know, but we’re together now, as long as we stick together.” 

Frankie smiled and hugged her daughter. “You're right. We should enjoy what we have.” 

“So, I heard about what happened to you and dad after we got separated. How you were caught by slavers and eventually escaped.” Juliet said,

“How do you know about that?” Frankie asked her surprised, 

“I met that friend of yours, Gerald. He told me everything.” She explained, 

“Oh yeah, Gerald.” Her mother smiled, 

Then something else fell on the middle aged woman’s mind. 

That boy…the one that Juliet claims saved her, the one who helped them along with the other settlers back at the quarry. 

RJ. 

It appeared that her daughter was very close to him but neither John or her knew anything about him. They were introduced but Juliet never told him the full story. She wondered exactly who this man was. She wanted to know about the guy that saved the life of her pride and joy. 

“Juliet, sweetie, can I ask you a question?” Frankie asked her, 

“Sure, mom. What's up?” Juliet asked her, 

“That boy, RJ...the one that you introduced to us back at the quarry...you said that he saved your life...what exactly happened?” She asked her, “You never told us what happened.” 

Juliet’s cheeks went red. “Oh, you're asking about how I met RJ? Well, it was the day after we were separated. After I fled the house and outran the Ferals, I was so lost. I wasn't sure where to go or what to do, but it wasn't long before I stumbled upon a cave...I went in and found that inside the caverns there was a settlement, a settlement consisted of kids, no adults, just kids. I quickly learned that the place was called “Little Lamplight” and it was a refuge for lost children. I was let in but they told me that I had to talk to their leader and see if he would let me stay there. RJ was the leader of the settlement, and I convinced him to let me stay. After a while I got to know everybody there including him and we were all friends from that day forward…RJ became my best friend...” 

When she was done explaining everything, Frankie took a moment to let it all sink in. 

“So that's how he saved you.” She finally said, 

Juliet nodded, “Yeah, all of our other friends are in the Capital Wasteland. Out of all our friends, I always get along with RJ the best.” 

Frankie nodded, “So he's like, you're best friend?” 

Juliet nodded smiling, “Yeah, we've been best friends for years.” 

Little did they know that the mentioned mercenary was standing just outside the storage facility, he overheard the whole thing, and he was hurt and hurt really deep. 

“Best friend? There she goes again with that.” He told himself, “First she said it last night on the way back from “Dunwich Borers”, and she just did it again. What the hell is going on?” He then looked over and noticed a nearby puddle. He gazed at his rippled reflection in the water. 

“...Is it me…?” 

Later that night, the settlement of “Sanctuary” was growing quiet. People were heading into their residences and everyone was settling down for the night. 

Juliet was about to head for her place but stopped when she saw MacCready walking towards the men’s house. She smiled and ran over to him. 

“RJ! Aren't you forgetting something?” She asked him smirking, 

MacCready just gave her an odd look in response. 

“My goodnight kiss for you.” Juliet said sweetly, she leaned in to kiss him but he just backed up. He looked at her as if she was carrying some type of weird disease. 

Juliet took notice of this and pulled back confused. “...What’s wrong?” She asked him, 

His serious look didn't change. “Jules, what's going on?” He asked her, “Did I do something?” 

“RJ, what are you talking about?” She shrugged, 

He sighed, “Whenever you talk to your parents and they ask about me, you call me your best friend, not your boyfriend. What the heck, Juliet? Why won't you tell them about us?” 

The sword fighter’s eyes widened, “RJ, we said that we wouldn't tell anyone, remember?” She reminded him, 

“Yeah, but that's everyone else...these are your parents who we’re talking about…that changes everything…” 

“RJ…” Juliet said sadly, 

“I thought that with your parents we wouldn't have to lie to them. We could actually tell them. This could actually be a huge step in our relationship, and it feels like you're unwilling to take that step. I feel like you're ashamed of me.” 

“No! Never! RJ, stop talking crazy, I love you, you know that. The reason I'm not telling them is because...well...they lost me for twelve years...and now they have me back...I just don't want them to feel like they're losing me again.” Juliet explained, 

MacCready didn't say anything, he just stared at her for a whole minute with no reaction whatsoever. Finally, he replied. 

“Well then...let me make it easier for them…” 

Then he turned his back to her and started walking away. 

Juliet felt her heart break and tears well up in her eyes. “RJ, don't do this…” 

He didn't listen, he just walked towards the men’s house. 

Juliet broke down right then and there. She turned and ran for the woman’s house and headed up to her room. She slammed the door shut locking it and collapsed on her bed and cried deeply into her pillow before finally falling asleep. 

“Juliet? Are you alright?” Frankie asked her daughter, 

They were both working the greenhouse when the middle aged woman noticed her daughter's distress. 

“Not really, mom.” Juliet sighed, 

“What's wrong, sweetheart? You know you can tell me anything.” Frankie said smiling supportively, 

Juliet sighed again. “Okay...can I be brutally honest with you?” 

“Of course, honey.” 

“...Mom, RJ and I are a couple…” Juliet said sadly, “We were best friends for years but we just recently became a couple.” 

“Why didn't you tell us?” She asked her, 

“I didn't want you and dad to feel like you were losing me. We just found each other and I didn't want to hurt your feelings.” 

Frankie smirked, “I figured you were together. You both seem pretty close.” 

Juliet smiled weakly. 

“Honey, don't worry about us. We love you no matter what and want you to be happy with someone. We always wanted that for you. You'll never leave us, just like we'll never leave you. Be happy.” She smiled, 

The dirty blonde smiled and hugged her mom. “Thanks, mom.” She said about to cry, 

Frankie then pulled away to look at her daughter for a moment. “Besides, he does look like quite the catch.” She teased,

Juliet blushed and laughed. “Yeah, we’re crazy about each other, but I’m afraid that we might not last much longer...” 

“Why is that?” Frankie asked, 

“Because I didn't tell you and dad that we were dating. He said I didn't seem like I’m very dedicated to him because it's a big step to tell you guys that we’re together, and I seemed unwilling to take that step.” She explained, 

Frankie took Juliet’s hands in both of hers. “Take some motherly advice: talk to him. Patch things up with him. Don't let your relationship fall apart because of this little quarrel. Go to him, tell him you love him.” 

Juliet smiled and hugged her mom. “Thanks mom.” 

Juliet fled the greenhouse and went searching for the mercenary. Eventually she spotted him standing guard at the front gate. It was his shift. 

“...RJ…?” She spoke up, 

He hesitated but turned to her. “What?” He asked obviously annoyed with her, 

Juliet stepped up the wooden steps until she stood right in front of him. 

“I told my mother about us…”

His angry look softened and his eyes widened a little. “...You did?” 

“Yeah...I explained everything...I'm really sorry, you were right, I shouldn't be keeping our relationship from them. Maybe we can just drop this silly argument and make up?” She said smiling with a light blush, 

He looked at her unsure, “and your mom is cool about us?”

“She’s fine with us being together, I haven’t told my dad yet, but I was hoping that we could both tell him…” 

“But won't he freak?” MacCready asked her, he looked nervous, 

Juliet smirked. “You're not scared of my father, are you?” She joked, 

A light blush went across his face. “What? No! No, I’m not scared of him…” He replied, 

Juliet giggled then put her hand on the left side of his face and grazed her thumb against his cheek. “I'm sorry...can you forgive me?” She asked him, 

MacCready only took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. When he pulled away from the kiss he looked her in the eyes desperately. 

“I'm sorry too, Jules. I shouldn't have just walked away like that...that was awful of me to do. I should have listened to you...I didn't mean to pressure you. I just didn't want to lose you...I love you…” 

Juliet’s heart thumped loudly in her chest, she swore that it was jumping through her shirt. She smiled as she felt her face heat up. “I love you too…” 

Then they kissed for longer and more passionately. They each moaned against the other’s mouths and tightened their holds one another. 

He pulled away to look at her. “I thought I almost lost you forever...I'm glad I was wrong…” 

Juliet lost herself in that moment, for she literally threw herself onto him kissing him with all the loving that she had. Thankfully, none of the Minutemen noticed this going on. The young couple just continued to kiss happy that their relationship was saved.


	40. Chapter 39: Struggles

Another week had passed. Juliet was still happy that she had found her parents and “The Minutemen” began to rebuild themselves again. 

Nora was walking around like normal doing her daily routine of checking on the settlers at their positions to make sure that things were going smooth. Being the leader still wasn't all that easy, but she managed. 

Albert approached her. “Nora, I just wanted to tell you that the settlement’s productivity has increased greatly. We have enough food and supplies to support about fifty more people.” He reported, 

“The Soul Survivor” smiled at “The Lone Wanderer”. “Excellent.” She said, 

Albert smiled back and gave a nod before turning to walk away. Nora just stared after him but instantly stopped him. “Uh..wait! Listen...Albert...I, uh, I really appreciate you coming all the way from D.C to help us out. I don't think we could have gotten through without you…” 

Albert smiled and waved her off. “Aww don't mention it, Nora. It's been my pleasure to help. We have heard a bit about “The Minutemen” back in the Capital Wasteland. It's both an honor and a privilege to be of assistance.” 

Nora beamed. “So, like, RJ, Juliet, and Chelsea told me that you were really famous back in the Capital Wasteland. What happened?” Nora asked him, 

“Well, I was a Vault dweller.  
Like you. Except my Vault didn't have cryo pods like yours did…” Albert replied, “I lived there with my dad. I was actually born outside the Vault, but after my mother died from my birth, my father took me there to be safe. We lived there for nineteen years...I was told that I was never going to leave the Vault…” 

“What changed your mind?” Nora asked, 

“I didn't have much of a choice, really. My dad escaped, so I had to go after him. As it turned out, he, along with my mother and a few of their friends, worked on a project they called “Project Purity”. It was a water purifier, designed to purify gallons and gallons of water at a time. We had support from “The Brotherhood of Steel”. It was my father’s pride and joy besides me. His life’s work...unfortunately, a group called “The Enclave” wanted to use the purifier to spread the FEV virus into the drinking water. If I would have sided with them, everyone would have become Super Mutants.” Albert explained, 

Nora was completely spellbound by his story. 

“That really happened? Whoa…” She said amazed, 

Albert nodded, “Yeah, my father sacrificed himself to stop them, so I made it my mission to get it working…I couldn't let my father’s sacrifice be for nothing...” 

“Did you succeed?” Nora asked again, 

“Yeah, my buddy, Fawkes, managed to activate it and get it up and running. The purifier’s still working as we speak...My parents’ dream is finally a reality.” Albert then felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he thought about his father. 

Nora smiled at him. They were quiet for a second until Albert tried to change the subject. 

“So, uh, what about you? What’s your story?” He asked her, 

Nora began to think back on all that had happened to her in the months that she was out in the wasteland. She began, “As you already know, I was actually around before the war. I lived here in “Sanctuary” with my husband, Nate and my infant son, Shaun. We led a pretty nice life...that is...until the bombs fell…” 

She started to remember that fateful day. It all went by so fast. One minute she and Nate were in Shaun’s nursery talking about going to the park, the next they were on the elevator being lowered down into the Vault. 

“...We..barely made it to the elevator...then we were lowered into the Vault where we were safe...then...we were put into those pods that froze us in place...eventually we were woken up and…” Nora began to get choked up as tears formed in her eyes. Albert looked at her with concern as she struggled to finish her tale. 

“...A man named Kellogg killed my husband and took my baby...”

Albert was taken aback by that. He felt sorrow and sympathy for the 222 year old woman. He wanted to cheer her up. He then took her hand in his in hopes of comforting her. Nora looked up at him smiling as he used his free hand to brush away the tear-soaked strands of her chestnut hair that were stuck to her face. 

“I’m very sorry, Nora...I know how you feel...but you know, I am glad that you’re here…” He told her, 

The woman blushed as his hand was then placed upon her cheek. She nuzzled her cheek deeper into his palm and looked at the former resident of Vault 101 dreamily. 

Albert just smiled back at her showing all of his white teeth. Nora then saw sparks before her very eyes. His hazel eyes stared right into her own. In that moment, there was no one else in the world. It was just the two of them. Her cheeks went hot and red and she felt her own heart begin to pound in her chest. 

Albert then let go of her hand and wrapped that arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. Nora used her right hand to caress his cheek and then she leaned in. Albert leaned in too. They both felt their eyelids drop and the distance between their faces was almost closed. 

“General.” A familiar voice spoke up, 

Both Vault dwellers instantly pulled away and looked at the man in front of them. It was Preston. 

He looked slightly taken aback. “Uh...Is this a bad time?” He asked them, 

Both Nora and Albert looked at one another and then quickly backed up from each other nervously. 

“Yes! Err, no! Just...what is it, Preston?” Nora asked him, 

“Well, for starters, I have another mission for Albert…” He looked to the 29 year old man. “I've gotten word of a settlement that claims that they have a small Mole Rat problem. I need you to take care of it…” He said, “Here, I’ll put the coordinates on your Pip-Boy…” He then took Albert’s wrist that had his Pip-Boy on it and typed the coordinates in.” 

Albert nodded, “Sure, I'll get right on it.” He then looked to Nora blushing. “I'll see you later, Nora.” Then he ran off to fetch his Laser Musket. 

Nora and Preston watched him go. The leader of “The Minutemen” then looked to his General. 

“Something going on between you two?” He asked her, 

“No! No, not at all.” Nora said hastily, her face was now red like a tato. 

Preston shrugged. “Okay. Anyways, I think that “Andrew” guy wanted to talk to you about something...better go see what it is.” He told her, 

Nora nodded. “Okay.” She then left to go find Andrew, the mercenary that she hired. He had been working with them for a few weeks now, and so far he was doing a pretty decent job. He helped out with the settlement missions and guard duty and managed to keep enemies like Raiders at bay. It certainly was fortunate that he was on their side. They didn't know too much about his past but Nora understood why he wasn't comfortable sharing. In a world like this, it was sometimes hard to relive your past. 

Nora found him at the front gate waiting for her. 

She smiled as she walked up to him. “Hey, Andrew.” 

“Hey, Nora.” Andrew replied, 

“Preston told me that you needed to talk to me about something?” Nora asked him, 

He nodded, “Yes, ma’am. Nick wanted me to tell you this...The missing person cases in Diamond City have been doubling in recent days…”

“What? That doesn't make any sense…” Nora said taken aback, 

“You're telling me...no one really knows who’s behind it, but they suspect it's “you know who”...” Andrew told her, 

Nora’s face grew sad as she felt her heart break. “...Shaun…” 

Andrew sadly nodded. 

“Sadly, I can easily believe that it’s him...it's what “The Institute” does. They are the “Boogeyman of the Commonwealth” after all...I just don't understand why Shaun keeps doing this…” Nora said, then it hit her. 

“...Oh no...I know why...It’s because I told him that I don't want to be the next directorate of “The Institute”. I knew he was upset but I didn't think he'd take it that hard...oh this is all my fault…” She said in despair, she covered her face with her hands in shame. 

“Hey, don't beat yourself up over this…We’re not entirely sure that it’s “The Institute” yet...Just go talk to Nick in “Diamond City”. He’s got the details on some possible leads and he wants to discuss it there in person…” Andrew replied, 

The “Sole Survivor” nodded. “Okay.” 

Andrew nodded back and went off to tend to some of his other duties. Nora was about to head out of the gate when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She was surprised at what she saw. 

Behind one of the houses, she saw two people kissing passionately. It was a man and a woman. The woman had her back pressed against the wall while the guy held her close in his arms. Her own arms were wrapped around his neck holding tightly to him as they continued to kiss. 

The guy then moved his lips to her neck. The girl giggled uncontrollably. 

Nora approached them. “...Juliet? RJ?” 

Both Juliet and MacCready jumped at the sound of Nora’s voice. They instantly noticed her presence and backed away from each other hastily trying to act as if nothing was going on. 

“NORA!” Juliet screamed, 

“Uh!...wh-what are you doing here!?” MacCready asked nervously, 

Nora folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I was about to head to “Diamond City” to see Nick about something, when suddenly I see you two over here snogging…” She replied, 

The mercenary and the swordfighter looked at each other, their cheeks were red with embarrassment of being caught. They knew that it was hopeless, but were still willing to cover it up. 

“What makes you think we were snogging?” Juliet asked her, “We weren't snogging. We were…we were…” 

“We were just standing here talking!” MacCready blurted out, Juliet folded her arms and gave him an “Are you kidding me!?” Expression. He flashed a cheesy smile and shrugged. 

Nora wasn't buying it. “Come on, guys. I know you both better than that...now what's really going on?” She asked them, 

They looked at each other again, MacCready looked at Juliet as if he were silently asking her something. Juliet didn't provide a verbal answer. She just nodded her head in response. 

MacCready then nervously rubbed the back of his head as he answered Nora’s question. “Nora, the truth is...Juliet and I are an item. We got together shortly after we brought her back. We decided that after what happened with the whole: “Fake Death” thing, that we never wanted to leave each other’s side again...I love her.” 

“And I love him.” Juliet spoke up, 

“We kept it secret because it didn't seem like it really mattered...but, now you know…” MacCready finished, 

Nora took a moment to process it all. After a few seconds, Nora just smiled. “I knew it. I knew that you two were in love!” She said the last part a little too loudly. Both MacCready and Juliet shushed her so that no one could hear them. 

“Whoops, sorry. Anyway, I think it's great that you're together...you two deserve each other...congrats.” Nora shot them a smile and a wink and then took off through the gates. 

The two best friends heaved sighs of relief. They looked at each other again. 

MacCready took a bold step towards her and blushed all the while looking straight into Juliet’s gorgeous ocean blue eyes. 

“So...what do ‘ya wanna do now?” He asked her in a sultry voice, 

Juliet just giggled. She proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck again and placed a sweet but shy kiss on his lips. She looked into his icy blue irises. 

“Well, since Nora knows now. We might as well tell everyone else that we're together…” She replied, 

He nodded, “Yeah. Let's do it. Who are we gonna tell first?” 

Juliet gave him a look. 

He blanched. “...Your dad?” 

“He needs to know about us...it won't be so bad...my mom knows about us and is happy about it...my dad won't be much different…” Juliet said, 

“I don't know, Juliet...I think your dad hates me…” MacCready replied, 

“He doesn't hate you, he just loves me is all.” Juliet explained, 

MacCready still looked scared. He had encountered many scary things in his life, he saw his wife get devoured by ghouls, he fought off Super Mutants when he was twelve years old, but this...this scared him more than anything else. 

“Come on, you can't be that scared of my father!” Juliet said trying not to laugh, 

MacCready just looked at her like he was going to be sick. 

Juliet giggled and grabbed his hand and gave a gentle tug. “Come on, it’ll be fine…” 

MacCready then took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, if you say so…” 

They headed off to the house where Juliet’s parents were currently staying. They knocked on the door and Frankie immediately answered. 

She smiled upon seeing the couple. “Juliet! RJ! Come in, come in!” She said in a welcome tone. They entered the home to see John sitting on the couch listening to the radio all the while polishing his gun. It was nothing special, just a snubnosed .44 pistol. 

“John, look who’s here!” Frankie said ecstatically, 

He looked up from his gun and his face instantly brightened up. “Juliet! My beautiful little girl!” He set down his weapon and stood up to give his daughter a hug. 

Juliet smiled as she returned he embrace. “Hey dad.” 

Then John noticed MacCready standing there as well. He got a deadpan expression on his face. 

“Oh, hello, RJ…” He said boredly, 

MacCready was scared beyond belief. John was staring him down. If looks could kill, MacCready would’ve be dead by now. 

The mercenary smiled nervously and replied, “Good to see you too, John.” 

John narrowed his eyes at him. “It's Mr. Weathers to you…” He replied coldly, 

Juliet frowned at her father. “...Daddy…”

“Sorry, sweetheart.” He apologized, he then sat back down on the couch while Frankie took a seat next to him. 

“So, what brings you both here?” He asked them, 

Both MacCready and Juliet were now standing in front of her parents, about to break the news about being a couple to Juliet’s father. 

The dirty blonde bit her lip. “Daddy...uh...there's something that we need to tell you…” 

John and Frankie's eyes widened. 

Frankie spoke up. “...Juliet...are you trying to tell us that you're…” She trailed off gesturing to Juliet’s belly. 

Both Juliet and MacCready’s eyes widened as well. They looked at each other then back at her parents. 

“What!? No!?” Juliet said hastily, she waved her hands back and forth shaking her head. “Dad...RJ and I are a couple...I hope you're not upset…” 

John and Frankie both heaved sighs of relief. John got up from the couch and approached the two of them. He looked at MacCready with a stare that could've turned him to stone. The mercenary was shaking inside, his heart beating out of his chest. 

Then John’s look softened. “...Take care of her…” 

MacCready blinked once in surprise. “Wait, what?” 

“Take care of Juliet, you hear me? She's very special...I can't let her be with just any guy that comes into her life...but she loves you...so you have my approval…” The middle-aged man then actually smiled at MacCready and patted his shoulder. 

MacCready smiled back. “Thank you, Mr. Weathers…” 

“Please, son...Call me John…” 

Piper was sitting on the porch of the women’s house with Cait and Curie. The three of them were listening to the music playing on “Diamond City Radio” while both Piper and Cait were sipping on a few beers. The song: “Uranium Fever” was currently playing and the three beautiful women didn't say anything. Eventually the song ended and Travis started stuttering out some ads and news bulletins. 

_“O-O-Okay, uh...so that was “Uranium Fever” by uh..Elton Britt...in other news, “The M-Minutemen” a-a-are still seeking new recruits to j-join their ranks...I-I-I for one am actually surprised that they made it after what happened in Concord...N-N-Not that I didn't think they would make it...I just...uh...that came out wrong! Uh...We also have gotten word that more missing cases have been reported here in “Diamond City”...Thankfully, our beloved detective and hometown hero, Nick Valentine and his “new partner” will solve the case...Anyways, uh...now here’s: “It's all over, but the Crying…”_

Static was heard and the next song came on.

Piper sighed as she set her beer bottle down on the arm of her lawnchair. “It's so sad that even more people are going missing and “Diamond City Security” STILL isn't doing anything about it…” 

Cait nodded, “Aye. It is a damn shame...That's why I don't like the place…” She took a large swig of her beer. Then she felt something begin to itch underneath her skin. 

She stood up a little too fast. “Uh..excuse me for a moment. I've got to check on somethin’...” She then disappeared into the house. 

“There's something that we have in common...The only reason I tolerate it is because it’s the best for Nat and I…” Piper replied, 

Curie awed. “Well, it’s really inspiring how you were able to take care of your sister for so long and how you're always looking out for her…” 

Piper shrugged, “Yeah. I was hoping we'd be safe there...but now, with all these kidnappings, I'm not so sure anymore.” 

“Mademoiselle Piper, if I may, I suggest if you don't feel safe there...maybe you could bring Nat here.” Curie suggested,

“I don't know. You think she would want to live here?” Piper asked unsure, 

Then Cait came back and sat back down. 

“Hey, what're we talkin’ about?” 

“We're talking about Piper bringing Nat here to “Sanctuary”.” Curie replied, 

“If ‘ya ask me, I think it’s not a bad idea...sure would mean less fussin’ and worryin’ for you…” Cait told her, 

Piper shrugged. “Maybe…”

The three went silent again. 

Suddenly, Cait felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She wrapped her right arm over her stomach. “Agh!” She hissed in pain, 

Piper and Curie noticed the Irish girl’s distress. 

“Cait, are you okay?” Piper asked concerned, 

Cait groaned. “Yeah, I'm fine, I just...I think that box of Fancy Lads was a bad idea!” Her hand flee to her mouth and she gagged. “Oh no.” She choked out, she then dashed into the house, up the stairs, as down the hall to the bathroom. She hunched over the toilet and ha led out everything in her system. When she was done she used her arm to wipe the vile from her mouth. 

“Ugh...shite...that was disgustin’...” She groaned, she then looked into the toilet and her eyes widened. 

In the toilet along with her residue was a bunch of her blood. It was a sickening sight, but she was familiar with it. Cait had seen it before. 

She knew what was causing it. 

“Oh God...this is gettin’ worse...I don't know what I'm goin’ to do…” Cait lamented to herself, then she felt dizzy. She held her head groaning. “Stop...please just stop…” She whimpered, when the dizzy spell finally stopped, she left the bathroom to return to the others.


	41. Chapter 40: The Investigation

Nora walked into Diamond City and headed straight for “Valentine's Detective Agency”. She opened the door and saw Nick sitting in his office chair looking at something rather perplexed. Case files almost completely covered the desk. 

“Nick.” Nora spoke up, 

The synth looked up at the mention of his name. “Nora. Glad you could make it...I'm afraid we have a problem…” He said, 

Nora nodded, “Yeah, Andrew told me that people were going missing or something?” 

“That right. There have been a lot more people whom have been reported missing lately. The work is piling up. Not that I don't like the work, but you know how it is.” He replied, 

Nora nodded again. “I understand.” 

Then Ellie Perkins came into the room. 

“Nick I have something I want to tell you--.” She stopped when she saw Nora standing there. 

Her face brightened up. “Nora! You're here!” She said ecstatically, 

Nora smiled at the other brunette and nodded. “Yep, I'm here to help.” 

“Glad to hear. Anyways, Nick, I just got several more cases. All of them are missing people.” 

“Tell them they'll have to take a number. We're already swamped as it is…” 

“We’ll figure this out, Nick…don't worry.” 

“I hope you’re right...Now, let's get down to business…We may not know who’s behind these disappearances exactly, but a lot of people are crying foul at “The Institute”. 

“I was told about that too,” Nora told him, “Sadly, I can see Shaun being behind this…” 

Nick nodded, “Yes, and while I believe they are our most-likely candidate...well...as I always say: “Innocent until proven guilty”...We’re going to need some concrete evidence before we just go around accusing and pointing fingers.” 

“I hope we’ll be able to find some evidence.” Nora said, 

“Well, as far as Diamond City Security has told me--.” 

Nora cut him off. “Wow! Diamond City Security is actually DOING something!?” She said pretending to act surprised, 

“I was surprised too.” Nick deadpanned, then he continued. “Anyways, according to what they told me, the missing people just left without a trace. They were all here one day and gone the next. There were also no witnesses so that makes things a bit trickier.” Nick explained, 

“Surely someone must've seen SOMETHING.” Nora retaliated, 

Nick thought it over for a moment. “Hmm...you're right...there must've been one person who saw something out of the ordinary…Let’s say we go see if anyone has seen anything suspicious...” Nick said standing up from his seat, 

“Mister, are you absolutely sure that you haven't seen anyone or anything weird around here lately?” Nora asked politely with a notepad and pen at the ready, 

“I already told you “no”! Now stop bothering me Vault lady!” The man snapped at her, he slammed the door in Nora’s face causing the young woman to flinch. 

Nick approached her. 

“Any luck finding out anything?” She asked him, 

“I got zilch,” Nick replied, 

“Hey Blue!” A voice piped up, both Nick and Nora turned to see Piper running up to them. They were surprised to see that she managed to make her way here so quickly. 

“Piper?” Nora quirked an eyebrow, she ran up to them panting heavily. 

“Piper what are you doing here?” She asked her, 

The reporter finally caught her breath and replied, “You honestly thought you were going to investigate the disappearances going on around here without me? Come on, Blue. You're gonna have to do better than that.” She teased with a wink, “I really want to help find these people. It's the right thing, plus, she imagine the headlines!” 

“Alright, Piper. You can help if you want to.” Nora said, 

“Okay! So, you guys got anything yet?” Piper asked eagerly, 

Nora sighed helplessly and shook her head. “All I've been getting is doors slammed in my face…” She looked to the synth detective. “Nick we aren't getting anywhere.” 

“Let's not give up just yet...now let’s think...there must be someone else that we haven't talked to…” Nick said, 

Then Piper got an idea. “There is someone else…” She said to them, 

Both Nick and Nora perked up at this. 

“But you're probably not going to like it…” 

“I’m sorry, but the Mayor will see no one at the moment.” Geneva said politely, 

The now trio was standing at the secretary’s desk in Mayor McDonough’s office. 

“Please, Geneva. We need to speak with Mayor McDonough, it's of great importance and we won't take up too much of his time.” Nora explained, 

“I am sorry, but the mayor is in a very distressed state right now. All these disappearing citizens are making him a complete wreck.” Geneva said sorrowfully, 

“What? Is he feeling guilty about committing the crime!?” Piper said raising her voice, “Is he too scared to confess!? What else are you hiding!? What about the affair that you’re having with McDonough!? Huh!? Want to answer to that!?” 

“Piper…” Nora warned her, 

“Need I remind you that you and your family are on notice, Miss Piper. Anymore derogatory comments of the Mayor will result in both eviction and banishment. You'd better watch what you say.” Geneva threatened, 

Piper then angrily slammed her palms on the desk. She got up in the blonde secretary's face, a fire burning in her hazel eyes. 

“You really think a notice will stop me from learning the truth!? I know she then looked back to the blonde secretary. “Please...we’re here to solve the case, but we’re running on empty. No one knows anything, we were hoping that maybe he could help us in some way.” 

Geneva gave the three of them a hard stare. Finally she replied, “Okay. I'll let him know you are here…” She then disappeared through the large blue double doors and closed them behind her. For a minute, all that they heard was science. Finally Geneva came back out and smiled. “The Mayor will see you now.” 

Nora, Nick, and Piper proceeded through the doors but Geneva stopped Piper. 

“Not you.” She said simply, 

The reported put on a deadpan expression. “Why am I not surprised…?” 

The large doors closed behind Nick and Nora. They saw Mayor McDonough standing by the windows overlooking his beloved city. He turned and noticed them enter. 

His face split into a slightly creepy grin and he approached them. “Ah, well if it isn't Diamond City’s two finest detectives! I do apologize about locking out your friend, but I can't allow members of the press in here. You’ve read her articles. Wouldn't want her to be snooping around sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.” 

“We understand.” Nora nodded, 

“But we’re not here to talk about that...we were wondering if you knew anything about the strange disappearances that have been going on this city.” Nick spoke up, “We have checked every other citizen residing in Diamond City and so far we’ve got nothing.” 

“Ah, I see...Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm just as clueless as the two of you. I don't know anything.” McDonough answered them, 

“Please, Mayor McDonough, you are our last option. You run this city, it's your job to know about everything that goes on inside The Wall. Are you sure you haven't seen or heard anything? Anything at all?” Nora asked him, 

“No, I'm afraid I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.” McDonough replied, “But I will most certainly let you know if I do. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have some important duties that I have to tend to.” He then went through the double doors leading out of his office. 

Nick and Nora exited the office too where Piper was leaning up against the lockers waiting for them. She gave Mayor McDonough the stink eye as he passed her to the elevator. He pressed the button and entered and headed down towards the marketplace. 

Once he was out of sight, she approached them. “You guys manage to get any info?” She asked, 

“Nope.” Nick replied, “Well, that was the last person we were able to ask...Guess we got nothing.” 

“Wait,” A familiar voice spoke up, 

They all turned to see that it was Geneva. 

The blonde sighed, “Look, I think I might know something…” 

They were intrigued by this answer. 

“What are you talking about?” Piper eyed her suspiciously, 

“Cut the attitude, and I'll tell you what I know…” She replied snarkily, 

Piper backed off. 

“Well, a few weeks ago, a man in a drifter’s outfit and a mask came to me…” She answered, 

“Was there anything “unusual” about this man?” Nick asked, 

“Besides the mask, no. I asked him what he needed and the first thing he asked me was about the citizens here...how many there are, what occupations they have managed to aquire...stuff like that…” Geneva explained, 

“Did this man have a name?” Nick asked her, 

Geneva shook her head. “He didn’t tell me his name, and I hadn’t seen him around Diamond City before then...I know all of the people who live here…”

“What was he doing here?” Nick decided to ask again, 

“He wanted to talk to me about renting a house here...I told him that housing was no longer available since Miss Nora recently bought that one house in the market.” She looked over to Nora. “Then he asked me about Mr. Kellogg’s old place. I told him that we foreclosed the property, I even offered to let him rent out that one instead. Then he just left…” 

“Wait, wait, wait! Why are you telling us all this when it could mean your job?” Piper asked her, 

The blonde secretary sighed, “I may agree with a lot of things that McDounough says...but I can’t ignore the fact that there are missing people out there...missing people who have lives and families and jobs and…” She paused before continuing, “I just want the citizens to really feel like they’re safe here...but ever since these disappearances have started happening, I don’t know, it’s just really bothered me to see such a beautiful city in fear…” 

“Do you think that we’ll be able to find that at Kellogg’s house? Maybe he knows something.” Nora asked her, 

Geneva shrugged, “He might be. I haven’t seen that man since then...You’re more than free to search Mr. Kellogg’s residence again...For the sake of those poor missing people...I wish you three good luck…” 

Nick gave a nod. “Have a good day, Miss Geneva. Thank you for your cooperation…” They headed for the elevator and Piper actually shot Geneva a kind smile. 

“Thanks for the info. You know, for the mayor’s secretary, you’re actually okay…” She winked, 

Geneva smiled back, “No problem, honey. Oh, and by the way, I never had an affair with McDonough…”

“Really? Well, okay, I’ll cancel that article then…” Piper replied, she hurried to join the other two on the yellow elevator and headed back down towards the market. 

Being back at Kellogg’s house brought back bad memories for Nora. It had only been a short time since she had killed him and avenged her husband, but everytime he was mentioned, that horrid face flashed into her mind. That voice...that sound of the gunshot…

...The menacing stare that he gave her through the window of her cryo pod…

“Blue? You okay?” Piper asked her putting a hand on her shoulder, 

The 222 year old woman instantly snapped out of it. “Oh. Yeah, Piper...I’m fine…” 

Nick opened the metal door to the house then stood off to the side. “After you, ladies…” He said politely, 

The three of them entered Kellogg’s old house and looked around. Nothing had changed since Nora and Nick were there last. Kellogg’s secret room was still open but that didn’t surprise them. 

“Well, it appears our “mystery man” isn’t here...Let’s start searching and see if we find anything…” Nick told them, 

They began to search around the house. Piper checked the small living area and around the desk, Nick checked the secret room again, and Nora was searching the upstairs area. Unlike the first floor, the entire second floor was trashed. There were dirty dishes and pots littered everywhere along with remains of food stuck to them. The bare mattress on the bed was covered with a pillow and a blanket that was messy. Nora was slightly disgusted by the filthy surroundings. Despite this, she continued to look around until she noticed that the food on the pots was from very recent. Someone was here. 

She then noticed that there was a note on the beaten up dresser. Intrigued, the “Soul Survivor” picked it up and looked it over carefully. 

“...I don’t remember this from the last time we were here…” She said to herself, the more Nora looked the note over, the more she realized what it was. It was a reminder. 

“Take the “Packages” to Vault 114 on January 23rd.”

“Nick! Piper! I think I found something!” Nora yelled as she ran down the stairs, the detective and the reporter looked up from their searches and walked over to her. 

“What’d you find?” Nick asked her,

“I...I think it’s a reminder of some kind...It says: “Take the “Packages” to Vault 114 on January 23rd.”.” She said reading the note again, she looked at them eagerly. “Jaunary 23rd...That’s today.” 

Piper quirked an eyebrow. “The “Packages”? You think he’s talking about the missing citizens?”

“There’s only one way to find out, ” Nora replied, 

“Wait.” Nick stopped them, “He took the people down to Vault 114...You know who’s down there…” He told Nora. 

The brunette instantly remembered whom he was talking about. 

“...Oh...Yeah…” 

“Who?” Piper shrugged, 

“Skinny Malone and his crew...They must have them...But we can’t just go in and get them...Skinny Malone’s a dangerous, clever, and well-organized man, and after what Nora and I did last time...let’s just say that he’s most likely not going to take our presence very well.” 

“What do you suggest?” Nora asked him, 

“If we’re going in, we’re going to need a crew of our own.” Nick replied, 

“Okay...who are we gonna get?” 

“So wait, let me get this straight. You want us to help you track down a kidnapper/murder that’s most likely keeping captives in an underground Vault filled with Triggerman and a “King of the Underworld” that would even give Al Capone a run for his money?” MacCready said confused,   
The crew was now back in “Sanctuary” trying to get their little “gang” together. 

“Yeah. We can't get through that Vault with just the three of us, heck we almost didn't make it with just two of us.” Nick replied, “In a place with all those Triggermen we’re going to need a group.” 

“Neither of us are strangers to combat.” MacCready said in a cocky tone, 

“You really need our help?” Juliet spoke up, 

Nora nodded, “We do.” 

Both the mercenary and the swordfighter looked at each other smiling and then back at the trio. 

“Count us in.” MacCready told them, 

“Okay, so that's two more people…” Nora mumbled, she then looked over and saw Cait walking by. 

“Hey Cait! You feel like going with us to fight some goons?” Nora asked her, 

The Irish woman smiled at him. “Darlin’ you know I’d never turn down a fight.” 

“Okay, where are Danse and Chelsea? We could use them on this too.” Nora asked, 

“We shouldn't be doing this…” 

“But I like being with you.” 

“But what if Deacon sees us?” 

“That doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm with you.” 

“Danse, that was a really cheesy attempt to charm me.” 

“Is it working?” 

“...Yeah…” 

Both the ex-Paladin and the Railroad Agent were inside “The Minutemen” house. They were kissing in one of the back rooms where no one could see. Deacon was still there and if he saw them, then “The Railroad” would know. Then who knows what would happen to them. 

Chelsea grabbed Danse’s face and fiercely pressed her lips to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders holding tightly to him as he caressed her back. 

Danse tried to kiss her back even harder. He parted her lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth meeting with hers. Chelsea let out a soft moan and raised one of her hands to tangle into his dark hair. 

Chelsea pulled away to look at him. “You know something? This feels like a true “Romeo and Juliet” story…” 

“What do you mean?” He asked her, 

“Think about it. Two souls in love, each from opposing factions, forbidden to be together and yet we are anyway? Doesn't that scream “Romeo and Juliet” to you?” 

“Maybe, but all I want us to be is “Chelsea and Danse”.” Danse replied, he caresses her cheek with his hand. “I love you...and only you…” 

Chelsea’s whole face went red and became shy when Danse leaned in and kissed her softly. Chelsea kissed him back but the nice moment was interrupted by a familiar voice. 

“Chelsea! Where are you!? Nora needs us for something important!”

It was Deacon. 

The couple sighed. “Duty calls.” Chelsea said standing up, she walked out of the room leaving Danse by himself for a minute. Finally he stood up and walked out too.


	42. Chapter 41: The Assassin

Nora and Nick finally had their whole gang ready. Piper, Albert, Cait, Deacon, Juliet, MacCready, Chelsea, Danse, and Preston. They were nearing Park Street Station. They only hoped that they had made it in time. 

“Okay guys, this is a very covert mission, so we need to do this very sneakily. If you see any threats in the way or if they start attacking, use your weapon. We’ll split up to look for the people. If you find any survivors, get them to safely.” Nora told them, 

The rest of the group nodded in understanding. They snuck into the station. Luckily for them, the front room wasn't guarded like when Nora was last there. they crept through the place and headed down the stairs. There was a small group of Triggermen standing around looking like they meant business. 

“Okay, here's what we’ll do...Piper, you go try to create a distraction. Stay hidden. We’ll do the rest.” Nora whispered to her, 

Piper nodded and ran towards snuck down the stairs and slipped past the guards. She went down one of the of subway tunnels where they couldn't see her. She waited in silence for a moment as she tried to think of a plan. It was then that she noticed a rock on the ground. She grabbed it and chucked it across the room. Once it hit the ground, the noise got the Triggermens’ attention. 

“Wha? What was that?” One of them asked the others, 

“I don't have a goddamn clue Let’s keep a sharp eye out…” Another one replied, 

MacCready then lifted his sniper rifle. He aimed down one of the sights. He put his finger on the trigger and…

BANG!

The Triggerman fell to the floor alerting the others. They noticed their dead comrade and began to look around frantically. 

“What!? Where did that come from!?” One of them said frightened, 

Then another shot was heard. Another man had been killed. The gangsters were now shaking in fear. 

“What the hell is this!? This isn't worth it! Let's get out of here!” A ghoulish one yelled, 

They then turned and headed for the way that would lead them to the sewer exit. 

Once the coast was clear, the group of eleven headed down the stairs. Everyone followed Nora and Nick’s leads down the appropriate tunnels. Finally the large cogwheel door came into view. They stood on the platform. The door was closed. 

“Huh...seems to be sealed again...I can fix that…” Nora pulled the plug out of her Pip-Boy and inserted it into the jack on the console. She slammed her fist on the red button and the door opened. They all went inside and looked around. Seemed vacant and quiet. 

“Okay, here's where we'll split up.” Nora said turning to them, she pointed at Piper and Cait. “You two will check the Reactor room. Be careful of radiation.” Then she pointed at Preston. “Preston, you'll check the bedrooms.” Then she looked at Danse, Deacon, and Chelsea. “You guys’ll check the bathrooms.” 

“Aww what!? Why!?” Chelsea whined, Danse instantly put his hand over her mouth to shut her up. He gave Nora a cheesy smile. 

“Nick and I will check the lower area by the cafeteria. So Juliet and RJ…” She turned to the swordfighter and the mercenary. “You two will check the upper area by the Overseer’s office. You guys got that?” She asked making sure they all understood her directions. 

“Everyone nodded. “Yeah.” 

“Okay then...Let’s go…”

The gang split up and searsched the entire. None of them had any luck. The group that was doing he worst was Chelsea, Danse, and Deacon. While they were searching, both the synth and the “master of disguises” disagreed a lot and constantly broke into arguments. Chelsea tried to calm them down but both men just calmly told her to stay out of it. 

Juliet and MacCready walked up the stairs to the upper level of the Vault. They could see Nora and Nick still searching the cafeteria below. 

MacCready leaned on the railing. He snickered, “I can't believe that they actually built a damn Vault that they never used!” 

“Well, from what Nora told me, they did it as sort of a scam...So this Vault was never used. It certainly was convenient of those thugs to find this place. 

“Yeah.” 

The dirty blonde then noticed a door out of the corner of her eye. She tapped MacCready’s shoulder to get his attention. He looked at her waiting for what she had to say. 

“There's another door over there.” She pointed in the direction of the door. “How about you search there and I'll go search the Overseer’s office?” She suggested, 

“I don't know, Jules...that office is giving me a bad vibe. I don't want you going up there...So I'll go there and you go that way.” He pointed at the door. 

Juliet smiled and nodded. “Okay.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and took off running. 

MacCready smiled and shook his head laughing at cute she was when she was excited. He then pulled out his sniper rifle and headed up the stairs to the Overseer’s office. He looked through the large circular window before going in. It was pitch black in there. 

“How am I going to get in there?” He asked himself, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a terminal. He ran over to it and hesitated before using it. He was never really good with computers. MacCready just selected the given options like Chelsea had taught him to do. He selected the “Open Door” option and the door flew open. He walked in. It was still dark, the only light around was the light that was coming in through the open door. 

“Ugh, I can't see anything! Where's that light switch!?” MacCready nagged, he felt around the wall until his hand felt a switch. He flipped it and the lights flew on only for the mercenary to witness a sickening sight. 

Dead bodies were piled up behind the Overseer’s desk. Some of them were Triggermen while most of them looked like just plain, average citizens. 

MacCready knelt down to inspect one of them. “...Oh man...are these the missing people? This would explain everything…” It was then that he heard a cough. He looked over to see one of the victims still barely alive. He was a rather fat man in a tux and formal hat. His tux was stained with blood and a bullet hole was located on his chest. 

“You…” The man heaved, 

MacCready approached him. “I've heard about you. You're Skinny Malone, right?” He asked, 

The man nodded, “Yes.” 

“You were involved with the disappearances with these people!” MacCready snapped, 

“...Y...Yes...Yes we were...But only a little bit…” 

MacCready grabbed the dying man by his tuxedo and pulled him closer to his face. He was seething with anger. 

“What happened!? Tell me!” He demanded, 

Malone winced in agony. He barely choked the sentence out. “It…It was a man...A man in a gas mask. He was the one who kidnapped those people, brought them here. He made a deal with us to keep them here so no one would find them…” 

“Who was he?” MacCready asked him harshly, 

“He...He never mentioned his name...But then that fool double-crossed me. He wanted full control of our little outfit. I told him no...but he didn't give up that easily. We got into a fight and he managed to shoot me right in the chest.” Then the gangster’s bloodshot eyes widened. 

“Be…”

MacCready didn't quite make that out. “What?” He asked him to repeat, 

“...Be…” Malone repeated, 

MacCready was just a bit annoyed at this. “What are you trying to say?” 

“...B-Behind you…” Malone said weakly, 

Before MacCready had time to process the situation, the mercenary felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Someone had stabbed him. He fell to the floor holding his bleeding shoulder in pain. He let out a pained scream as he saw the blood that was already on his hand. He looked up. Towering above him was the exact man that Malone had described. He didn't say anything. He just looked down at him. He then gave the injured man a hard kick before leaving the room. 

MacCready still held tightly to his shoulder. He was losing more and more blood by the minute. His vision started going blurry. The room began to darken as a figure approached him. 

Juliet screamed as her eyes were getting soaked with tears. 

“RJ!!!” She screamed from the top of her lungs, this caused Nora and Nick to come dashing into the room. Nora cupped her hand over her mouth trying to not scream as well. 

Nick took notice of the pile of dead bodies on the floor. His yellow eyes widened. “Nora...It's them...It's the missing people…”. He told her, 

Nora noticed the pile too and nearly fainted at the sickening sight. They heard Skinny Malone cough and looked in his direction. 

“You guys...you guys better get out of here before…” He coughed again. “...Before he gets ‘ya…” 

“Who?” Nora asked, 

“He..He calls himself: “The Assassin”...” Malone replied,

The Vault dweller and the synth looked at each other. Malone then grabbed Nick’s hand. 

“This…This is the end of the road for me, Nicky...You must..end...the...assassin.” Then he died. 

“Nick, what do you think he means?” Nora asked him, 

“That doesn't matter right now! MacCready’s hurt! We need to get him out of here!” Both Nora and Juliet quickly got to work and picked up the unconscious mercenary and hurried out of the room with Nick following.


	43. Chapter 42: Help Is Here

“So there I was, in a suit of power armor with a minigun in my hands, fighting a Deathclaw. The only thing that Preston was wielding was a Laser Musket.” 

“What happened next?” 

“The large creature with the face of death came charging at me full speed!” Nora said dramatically, she was at “The Minutemen House” standing in the garage area. She was re-telling the story of meeting “The Minutemen” and defeating the Deathclaw to Duncan. The four year old sat cris-crossed on the cement ground completely spellbound by the “Soul Survivor’s” story. 

“It looked like we were outnumbered. It almost seemed like the end. But luckily for us, my minigun still had quite a few bullets. So I bravely charged towards the creature and fired at it making every bullet count.” 

“Did you end up killing it!? Huh!? Did ‘ya!?” Duncan asked excitedly, 

“You bet we did, Kiddo.” Nora winked, 

“Wow! I can't believe you took out a DEATHCLAW, Miss Nora! That’s amazing!” Duncan praised, 

“Aww...I’m glad you think so, Duncan...But I didn’t do it alone. I had my friends to help me too.” Nora told him, 

“Still, that’s pretty amazing.” Duncan said, 

“Hey Nora! You might want to come see this!” Preston yelled from the distance, 

Nora hurried over to where Preston was. It was early in the morning, so he was standing at the gate like normal. She ran up the wooden steps to join him. 

“Preston? What is it?” She asked him, 

The Leader of “The Minutemen” then pointed ahead of him. “There’s a large group coming this way, I can’t tell if they’re dangerous or not.” 

Nora looked to where he was pointing to see that he was right. A large group of people were slowly walking towards the gate. 

Nora squinted trying to make them out. 

“Who are they? Traders? More settlers?” She asked, neither of them noticed Juliet run up the steps to join them. She was working nearby when she heard the commotion and she wanted to see what was going on. 

She squinted her eyes too but almost instantly recognized the large group of people. 

Her eyes widened. “...No...It couldn’t be…” She said in disbelief,  
Both Nora and Preston looked at her confused, “Who is it, Juliet?” Nora asked her, 

“...They’re our friends…” Juliet replied, “Let them in! Let them in!” She said hastily, Preston ran over and pulled on the lever and opened the large gates of Sanctuary to the large group. The old residents of both “Little Lamplight” and “Big Town” slowly entered the town. 

The dirty blonde then recognized five certain people in the crowd. 

She ran towards them. “Guys!” 

The certain group recognized her voice and turned to see her running towards them. 

“Juliet?” One of them said, it was a man about her age. 

“Zip!” Juliet cried out happily, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. The Nuka Cola addict smiled and returned the hug. 

“Hey Jules!” He happily replied, 

Juliet pulled away and looked past him to Penny who was smiling as well. 

The dirty blonde hugged her too. “Hey Penny.” She said, 

Penny hugged her back. “Hey Juliet. So good to see you again.” 

They parted from the hug and were instantly greeted by Sammy and Squirrel who walked up to them. 

“Well, look at what the Deathclaw dragged in!” Sammy spoke up, 

Juliet was now overjoyed. “Sammy! Squirrel! Princess! You're all here!” She exclaimed, 

Sammy just smiled proudly. “Of course we’re here.” 

“We’d never miss a fight.” Squirrel continued for him. 

“We got RJ’s letter saying that you needed help here. We left as soon as we could.” Princess beamed, 

Juliet noticed that Squirrel had his arm around Princess’s waist. Zip had his arm around Penny’s too. 

A large smile grew on her face. “Wait...are you guys...together?” She asked them, 

Zip and Penny blushed. “Y-Yeah. We hooked up shortly after the scatter. I was heading for Rivet City and Penny wasn't sure of where she was going to go, so I offered her to come along with me. Then..one thing led to another. You can tell what happened after that.” He smiled and winked, 

Penny just giggled and gave her beau a kiss on the cheek. 

“He certainly helped me through the tough times.” She swooned, 

“As for us, Sammy and I were heading for Megaton. Princess here decided to invite herself along…” Squirrel explained, 

The brown and red-haired woman folded her arms across her chest. “That's right. I do what I want.” She said smirking, 

“Yeah, then she and I got closer.” Squirrel finished, he and Princess then shared a long, disgusting kiss. 

Sammy rolled his eyes in disgust. “I'm the one who's suffered the most from it.” 

Juliet giggled. 

“Say, where’s RJ?” Zip asked looking around for his buddy, 

“Here I am.” They heard a voice speak up, 

The group of old friends noticed MacCready walking up to him. He was smiling too. 

“RJ! There you are! We all came as soon as we got your letter.” Zip told him, 

“What happened to your shoulder?” Penny asked noticing his bandaged up shoulder. 

The mercenary looked at his healing injury and then back at his friends. 

“Oh, this? I got into a bit of a scuffle with a masked Assassin...but I'll live…” He answered jokingly. 

Sammy’s eyes widened. “An Assassin?” 

“Yeah, there’s apparently this unknown Assassin that's been running around lately killing people as he goes.” Juliet explained, 

Sammy tilted his head. “Like “The Mysterious Stranger”?” 

“Yeah, sort of.” Juliet replied nodded, 

Just then, Chelsea appeared out of the blue with Nora at her side. The raven-haired woman’s eyes widened upon seeing her old friends. 

“Guys!?” She said in disbelief, 

They noticed her presence. 

“Chelsea!” Squirrel exclaimed, 

Penny ran over to Chelsea and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. She proceeded to hug the others just like Juliet did and when they were done with their happy reunion, Nora spoke up. 

“So, you are the ones that RJ said he'd contact?” She asked them, 

Zip nodded, “That's right,” He stuck his hand out to her. “I'm Zip, and these are our other friends: Sammy, Squirrel, Princess, and Penny.” 

Nora beamed as she shook his hand, then she proceeded to shake the other adults’ hands as well. “It's a real pleasure to meet you all. RJ and Juliet have both told us so much about you.” 

“All good we hope.” Sammy joked, 

“We greatly appreciate that you all decided to help us in our fight against “The Institute”...” Nora said, 

“It is our honor.” Penny spoke up, 

“Thank you. Consider Sanctuary your home.” Nora finished, and with that, she walked away to tend to other duties. 

The group of old friends went back to celebrating. 

“Well, here we are again.” Juliet said, 

Squirrel nodded in agreement. “You said it.” 

“Yeah, with you guys helping us there's no way that the Institute will win…” MacCready added on, 

“...In fact...those bastards better hide…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Short chapter, I know, but it will get better. I swear.**


	44. Chapter 43: A Little Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so in this chapter, we're going to get a little surprise, hehe ^^

Juliet started feeling better as the days went on. She had taken Curie’s advice and decided to not stress herself out so much. Within a few days, it was like she was never sick. No puking, no dizzy spells, nothing. She felt great. 

The dirty blonde walked into the medical facility. She was visiting MacCready again. The mercenary’s injury had improved greatly. Curie told him that he only needed to stay for one more week and he would be good to go. 

Juliet smiled as she entered the room. The love of her life was still asleep in his bed. 

She slowly and quietly walked over to the bed. She ran a hand through his dusty bright brown hair then moved down and planted a kiss on his forehead. He smiled and stirred a little in his sleep. 

“Morning…” She cooed softly, 

The twenty two year old man slowly opened his eyes and instantly saw Juliet’s beautiful face. 

He gave her a tired smile. “Hey Jules…” 

“How are you feeling?” She asked him, 

“A lot better. Especially now that you're here with me.” He propped himself up on his elbows. 

Juliet chuckled. “Well, that's good then, isn't it.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “There are some other people here to see you too.” 

Suddenly, Duncan came running into the room eager to see his father again. Following close behind him was Chelsea. 

“Hi daddy!” Duncan said happily, 

MacCready beamed at his son. “Hey buddy.” Duncan jumped up onto the bed and sat between his two favorite people. 

Chelsea leaned against the doorway smiling. “How are you doing, Mac n’ Cheese?” She teased, 

“I'm doing fine, Chelsea. Thanks.” He replied to his other good friend, 

“Daddy! Daddy! Aunt Chelsea showed me how to pick a lock today!” Duncan said, 

“Really?” MacCready said interested, 

The four year old furiously nodded his head. “Uh huh! I managed to pick one on the first go! I also helped Mr. Sturges fix and tinker some other stuff as well!” 

“You did? That's great, buddy. I'm proud of ‘ya.” He smiled at his child, 

Duncan then looked at Juliet and back at MacCready. He decided to ask a question. 

“Now that you two are together, does that mean I have a new mom?” He asked them, 

Juliet giggled. She thought it was so cute, the way he thought about things. 

“If that’s what you want to think, then sure.” She replied,

“Would it be okay if I called you mom now?” Duncan asked her, 

The dirty blonde beamed. “If you want.” 

“Then I guess you're mom...now that you are, are you going to marry daddy?” 

Both adult’s eyes widened and their faces went red. They weren't expecting him to ask such a question. Chelsea was snickering in the background while they were trying to think of what to tell him. 

MacCready finally answered his kid. “Well, maybe we will...someday.” 

Duncan shrugged. “Okay.” He simply replied, 

It was in that moment the mercenary noticed that Juliet was staring at him. He stared right back at her. 

Chelsea could sense tension in that moment. She gestured towards herself. “Come on, Duncan. Let's go do something else.” 

Duncan hopped off the bed and ran for the door. “Okay!” He said enthusiastically, he dashed out of the room and the raven-haired woman closed the door behind her. 

The mercenary and the swordfighter just continued to stare at each other. Juliet wasn't saying anything. MacCready hoped that he didn't say something wrong. 

“You okay?” He asked her, 

She snapped out of her trance and nodded her head. “Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just that...the thought of us...getting hitched in the future…It just sounds so...surreal.” 

MacCready quirked an eyebrow, “Surreal how?” 

Juliet sighed. “Well...it's just that we've both been married to someone else before...and we both know that our marriages didn't end well. Also, we just started seeing each other, and yet you're already thinking of taking that huge step?” 

“Yeah, we would be moving kinda fast. Honestly, I just said it to make Duncan happy.” MacCready admitted, “He's never really had a mother before...and he just seemed so happy at the thought...I just didn't want to say the wrong thing and crush him.” 

Juliet smiled. “I understand why you did that. So yeah, no marriage for awhile.” 

The mercenary laughed. “Agreed.” 

They then leaned in for another kiss when Juliet felt a sharp pain in her stomach. 

Her hand flew to her stomach and she hissed in pain. “Ow.” She groaned. 

“You okay, Juliet?” MacCready asked her concerned, 

Juliet just sat there groaning for a second until she felt fine again. She smiled at him. “Yeah, I'm fine, RJ. It's just that Brahmin Steak that I had last night. Didn't quite sit right.” 

“Oh, okay then.” He smiled, 

**The Next Day:**

“Juliet? Are you feeling alright, sweetie?” Frankie asked her daughter, 

Juliet was helping her mother in the greenhouse again. They had been working for almost an hour and a half and the middle aged woman was concerned of her daughter’s condition. 

Juliet looked like she was gonna faint. Her face was extremely pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. 

“I'm okay, mom.” She assured her, “I’m probably just tired.” 

“Maybe you should sit down.” Frankie suggested, 

Juliet waved her mother off. “Mom. I’m fine. Really. I honestly have never felt better in my life. All our old friends are here to help us fight “The Institute”, RJ’s getting better everyday, it's fine.” 

“Well...if you're really sure.” Frankie said still unsure herself, 

“Trust me, mom. I'm gonna be alright.” Juliet assured her, 

The mother and daughter instantly went back to work. Juliet suddenly felt the urge to throw up again like she had been a week ago. 

“What's wrong with me?” She asked herself, “I thought I was done with this…”

For the next day or two, things just seemed to get worse from there. The puking started recurring and the dizzy spells returned. But more issues came with them. 

Juliet was also starting to feel more exhausted than normal to the point where she couldn't do her job. The dirty blonde tried to hide it all by holding in her vomit and sucking up the exhaustion and continuing to work, but all the while, she felt completely miserable. Others would notice her condition, but she'd normally wave them off and assure them that she was fine. 

But she wasn't fine. 

Finally the day came that MacCready was let out of the medical facility. Curie happily told him that he was healed and removed the bandage. He had a medium sized scar on his shoulder now but no one was really going to notice. 

He knew the first place that he was going. 

He entered the women’s house. It was completely deserted due to the fact that the women who resided there were currently outside working. 

He looked around. “Juliet? You home?” He called out, “Juliet?” 

Juliet was up in the bathroom brushing her hair smiling at her reflection. Suddenly, she heard her beau’s calls from downstairs. 

“Juliet? Juliet, are you here?” 

Juliet smiled and blushed as she turned to head for the door but felt another sharp pain in her stomach. This one was by far the worst. She felt like she was going to hurl. But she held it in. 

She left the bathroom and headed down the stairs to see MacCready standing at the bottom. 

He smiled instantly upon seeing her. “Hey, there you are.” 

“Hey RJ, good to see you up and about again.” Juliet beamed, 

“I was wondering where you were. I almost thought you forgot about me.” He joked, 

Juliet chuckled. “Forget you? Never.” The mercenary took her in his arms once she reached the bottom of the steps. Juliet held tightly to him only to feel the sharp pain and the vile coming up again. 

She gagged. 

He noticed his beau’s discomfort. “Jules? You okay?” 

Juliet tried so desperately to hold it in. Finally she couldn't hold it back anymore. She harshly pushed him away from her and dashed back upstairs towards the bathroom. Concerned for her, MacCready followed. 

Juliet slammed open the door to the bathroom and ran straight to the toilet and hurled up everything in her stomach. MacCready ran in and helped her using one hand to hold back her dirty blonde hair and the other to rub and pat her back. 

When she was finally done, the swordfighter gasped for breath and shook like a leaf. 

“What the heck was that!?” MacCready asked her, he was startled by this sudden incident. 

Juliet didn't reply. She wasn't looking at him. She just lowered her head. It was then that he remembered her having cramps the other day. 

“...How long have you been feeling this sick?” He asked her, 

Juliet sighed finally facing him. “I was sick for about a week and then it went away and now it's come back. It's weird.” She told him, 

“Why didn't you tell me you were sick?” He asked, 

“I didn't want to worry you.” Juliet answered, 

“Why don't you go see Curie? Maybe she'll know what’s wrong with you.” He suggested, he then pulled his girlfriend in for a hug. 

Juliet rested her head on his shoulder. “Maybe you're right.” 

“Mademoiselle Juliet! So wonderful to see you again!” Curie said cheerfully, Juliet assumed that the lovely synth doctor didn't have a sad bone in her body. 

She smiled politely. “Good to see you too, Curie.” She said, 

“Now, how may I assist you today?” She asked her, 

“I'm feeling sick again, Curie.” Juliet told her, 

“Really? Again? Did you take my advice from last time?” Curie asked her, 

Juliet nodded. “Yeah, I took your advice. But I'm still sick.” 

“Hmmm...how very peculiar…” Curie hummed tapping her chin, “We ran a lot of tests on you and they all came back healthy. But you still feel ill. This isn't stress after all.” 

“Is there anything that you can do?” Juliet pleaded, 

“Hmm. I could run a few more tests and see what we can find.” Curie replied, 

A few more of the tests were run and Juliet was told to wait in the room that she was in for the results. Like her last visit, the minutes seemed to move by very slowly. Finally Curie came back into the room. 

“Oh Curie! You're back! What are the results, huh? Do I just have the flu?” Juliet asked her smiling, 

Curie wasn't smiling, instead, she looked rather shaken up. 

The dirty blonde took notice of this. “...Curie…?” 

Curie approached her. “Mademoiselle...I have the results...However, before I give them to you, I must ask you a personal question...and need you to answer me VERY HONESTLY…” She told her, 

Juliet nodded. “Sure, what's up?” 

“...Uh...Juliet, have you recently partaken in any sexual activity whatsoever…?” Curie asked her, 

The blonde’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red as soon as she heard that question. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. She wasn't a virgin. She’s had sex before. Her first time was with Will when they got married. 

But she would have been lying if she said that she and MacCready hadn’t already been...intimate... 

“...”

“...Mademoiselle…?”

Juliet finally sighed. “Yes. About two to three weeks ago...but what does that got to do with anything?” She asked her, 

“Well, I've got the results back from one of the tests and…” Curie hesitated. 

“...and what?” Juliet asked, she wasn't sure where this was going. 

Curie held out the paper with the results. 

“...You're expecting…” She said, 

Juliet's eyes widened and she instantly snatched the paper from Curie. She looked it over herself not wanting to believe that it was true. She saw the positive results right there in front of her. 

She was pregnant. 

She couldn't believe this. A little baby was now growing inside her belly, and it was quite obvious who the father was. 

She looked up front the paper slowly. “...I don't believe this...I’m pregnant…” She whispered, 

“And we ran a few more tests after that one…we have reason to believe that the father of the child is Monsieur MacCready...is that correct…?” Curie asked her,

Blush covered Juliet’s cheeks. She nodded her head. “Yes.” 

The synth put a comforting hand on Juliet’s shoulder. 

“Congratulations.” She said trying to be supportive. Then she left the room again leaving Juliet alone with her thoughts. 

“...No, there's no way that this can be happening...Oh god!...We’re having a baby…” She looked back down at the test results and hugged her knees close to her chest. 

“Oh God...How will I tell him? This is nuts. I'm gonna have a baby...His baby...What are we going to do…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Juliet is pregnant. How will everyone react to this? Or will she just keep it a secret? Stay tuned.


	45. Chapter 45: The Secret Is Revealed

Chelsea’s blushing red face was currently split into a wide grin. For she saw Danse working in the garage of “The Minutemen House” across the street. He was fixing up his suit of power armor to make it almost as good as the armor that he had when he was in the Brotherhood. 

The ex-Brotherhood Paladin finished tightening a bolt on the right leg. He then set the wrench down beside him and used the back of his hand to wipe some of the grime off of his forehead. The synth looked up and noticed the Railroad Agent staring at him as he worked. He smiled sweetly at her which caused her blush to deepen and for her legs to go limp like the wet noodles that the people in Diamond City liked to eat. He shot her a wink and went straight back to work. 

Chelsea nervously bit her lip and fiddled with a strand of her raven hair as she watched the love of her life continue to work on his armor. Even though they all lived in a screwed up world, Danse was the only thing besides her friends and her occupation that actually made sense. 

Falling for Danse was no doubt a complete whirlwind. At first, she never would have even thought about having those certain feelings for someone like him. The fact that he worked for the organization that she had despised most, definitely painted him a bad light. Which was why she wasn’t very happy when she was assigned to work with him. In the beginning, Chelsea hated his living synthetic guts. But, as soon as the Railroad Agent got to know him, she began to see him differently. After awhile, she gained strong feelings of respect and care for him. Those two strong feelings slowly turned into love. To make things better, Danse ended up feeling the exact same way about her. She had never been this happy in her life. 

“I love him so much…” She said softly to herself, The Railroad Agent still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he was in love with her and that she actually loved him in return. She herself was never one for romance, she always thought that a romantic relationship wasn’t a real necessity, that there were far more important things in the world to be worried about rather than that. A few of the male Railroad Agents that she knew had tried to hit on her over the years, but she always kindly turned them down. 

Chelsea figured that she would probably never settle down and just end up growing old and grey alone. But now, here she was, in a healthy, passionate relationship with someone else. Just having him around made the young woman happier than she had ever been. 

But she was also concerned. Although they loved one another, there was still one thing that stood in the way of their happiness. 

The fact that they were from opposing factions. 

Chelsea dreaded telling the others back at HQ about their relationship. After she and Danse declared their love for one another, they decided it was best to keep their relationship under wraps so that they wouldn’t know. Chelsea was still a member of “The Railroad”, and whether she liked it or not, they still despised the “The Brotherhood of Steel” and considered them their enemy. That was what concerned her about them knowing. Though Danse was no longer a member of the Brotherhood, he still bled Brotherhood and kept a lot of their ideals very close to his heart. Therefore, it was most likely that he would still be judged as a member through the eyes of her peers. What would they say if she told them that she was romantically involved with the enemy? What would happen to her? What would happen to Danse? Best case scenario, they would be only a little disappointed but eventually come around to Danse. Worst case scenario, Danse would probably be killed on sight and she would be tried with treason and be discharged. Either way, Chelsea was not eager to find out the results. 

At first it wasn’t too hard to be together outside of the eyes of “The Railroad”. Since the organization and those who were a part of it were never around, they didn’t really have to hide it. But now, in Sanctuary, it was a whole lot harder with Deacon there. He may had been Chelsea’s friend, but that didn’t mean that the master of disguises would accept the fact that she was with an ex-member of the Brotherhood. 

Chelsea was distraught. She had no idea of what they were going to do. 

“Hey Chelsea? You okay?” A voice spoke up, 

Chelsea jumped a bit and whirled around to see Andrew standing behind her. 

“Oh, hey. You’re that mercenary that Nora hired right?” Chelsea said recognizing him, 

Andrew nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re the Railroad Agent, right?” 

“Yeah, well, Deacon and I are both part of “The Railroad”.” Chelsea explained, 

“I see.” Andrew replied, “Well anyways, are you okay? You seem pretty lost in thought.” He asked her, 

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just...really tired right now.” She lied, 

The twenty three year old man shrugged. “Oh, okay.” 

“You know, we’ve all been working together for months, and we don't know anything about you.” Chelsea pointed out, 

Andrew just shrugged again, “Okay. What do you wanna know?” 

“I don't know, like, who you are? Where are you from?” Chelsea suggested, 

“I’ve lived here in the Commonwealth my whole life. My parents and I were part of a settlement far down south. My dad was the leader of the militia and well, everything else. I left home on my eighteenth birthday and started mercenary work about a few years ago. I didn't really want to be a mercenary, but the caps were so good that I couldn't resist.” He explained, 

MacCready was working next to them and overheard this. “I can relate.” He said, 

“Yeah, so I started taking contracts and jobs and stuff like that, and that's just been my life ever since.” Andrew finished, 

“Huh.” Chelsea said trying to process that last bit of information. 

“Yep.” Andrew replied, “Well, I gotta go man the gate. See ‘ya later.” He then walked off leaving Chelsea by herself again. 

Chelsea watched him go and then looked back at “The Minutemen House” to see that Danse was no longer fixing his armor. 

“Huh, where did he go?” She asked herself, 

Suddenly a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She shrieked in surprise but instantly started giggling. She knew who it was. 

“Hey Chelsea.” A voice said, 

Chelsea smiled and rolled her eyes. “Daaaannnssseee.” She whined, the ex-Brotherhood Paladin turned her to face him and instantly pressed his lips to hers. Chelsea responded in kind and kissed him back, only her kiss became rough and she even nipped his lip a little. 

Danse breathed deeply and continued to kiss her as his thumbs pressed into her back. The raven-haired woman loved this, she loved him, and she was glad that they could at least have these nice moments together. 

Chelsea broke off the kiss and looked him in the eye. “...I love you…” She told him breathlessly, 

“I love you too.” Danse responded, but then his face displayed a look of concern. 

Chelsea noticed this. “What is it?” She asked him, 

Danse pointed past her. “Deacon’s coming.” He said, he let go of Chelsea before Deacon could see Danse holding her. 

The master of disguises walked over and joined them. He didn't notice Danse and only looked at Chelsea. 

“Hey Chels!” He greeted her nicely, 

Chelsea smiled weakly. “Hey Deacon. What's up?” She asked,

“Nothing much,” Deacon answered, it was then that he noticed Danse standing there giving him the evil eye. 

Deacon’s normal nice and upbeat attitude instantly melted away to a more suspicious and deadpanned one. 

“What are YOU doing here?” He glared, 

Before Danse could answer however, Chelsea cut in and made up a quick lie. 

“We were actually having a discussion.” 

The bald man looked to her confused. “What? Why are you talking to him, Chelsea? You know that The Brotherhood is against our cause.” 

Chelsea could see Danse was getting heated up pretty fast by Deacon’s negative statements. She was worried that he was going to snap and go off on Deacon. She had to do something. 

“I know that. I was...just telling him to back off. That he shouldn't be here and that The Brotherhood shouldn't take “The Railroad” so lightly.” She lied, 

Deacon’s serious face suddenly split into a smile. “Good work, Chels…” He then looked to Danse. “You heard her, Paladin. You and yours better be careful around us. You may be looking to destroy our friends, but we will not stop until every synth in the Commonwealth is saved.” 

Danse didn't say anything. Without another word, Deacon walked off. 

Chelsea turned back to Danse. He was now looking down at the ground. She was saddened by this. “Just so you know, I didn't mean any of that.” 

“...I know…” Danse told her, he then looked her in the eye. The raven-haired woman could see a troubled look there. 

“Something wrong, Danse?” Chelsea asked him, 

The synth sighed. “I don't know how much longer we can do this, Chelsea. I mean, we can't keep this a secret forever...and if “The Railroad” were to find out...” He trailed off. He then put his hand on the side of her face.

Chelsea looked at him with concern. 

“...Then..I could lose you…” He finished, 

“Danse…” Chelsea said sadly, 

The ex-Brotherhood Paladin stroked his thumb against her cheek. His brown eyes looking right into hers. “And I can't bear the thought of losing you…”

Chelsea then put her hand over his. “That won't happen...” She assured him, “Not while I'm still kicking.” 

Danse smiled weakly at her, he loved it when she acted confident. He then leaned in and kissed her again. Chelsea moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. After a few seconds, they pulled away and just looked at each other for a moment. 

“...We’re going to be okay...I promise, Chelsea…” Danse said softly, then he paused. “...I love you…” 

Chelsea blushed. “I love you too, Danse.” Then she let go of him and walked away. Danse could only watch her go. He sighed deeply. 

“You really do love her, huh?” A voice spoke up, 

Danse turned to see MacCready approach him smirking. 

He quirked an eyebrow at him. “MacCready? How much did you see?” 

“Oh, only all of it.” He said nonchalantly, he walked up closer to Danse and put an arm around the synth’s shoulder. 

“So...You fell hard for Chelsea, eh?” He teased, 

Hints of red filled the ex-paladin’s cheeks. He avoided eye-contact with the mercenary as if he could read his mind. 

MacCready gave him an understanding look. “It's okay, Danse. I think it's great.” 

Danse blinked once in slight surprise. “Wait...really?” 

MacCready nodded. “Yeah. You and Chelsea go great together. Chelsea’s an amazing person. She sticks by the ones she loves. Take it from me, we’ve been friends for twelve years. I can tell she’s gonna stay by you for a long time.” 

“You really think so?” Danse asked, 

The mercenary only smiled sincerely at him. “I never lie about my friends. I think it's pretty obvious that Chelsea really loves you. Plus, don't think I've ever seen her as happy until now. With you.” 

Danse felt good when he heard that. Knowing that he made Chelsea really happy made him feel loved and needed. 

He looked back at MacCready. “Thank you, MacCready. You know, you're not so bad.” He smiled warmly, 

MacCready shrugged. “Eh, you ain't half bad yourself, rust bucket. He gave his shoulder a friendly punch. The synth laughed and punched him back. 

“Well I’d love to just stand here and talk, but I gotta go ignore the settlement missions Preston wants me to do.” 

Danse laughed again at his joke. 

MacCready then walked off. Danse waiter a minute before he walked away too. 

**Xxx**

Chelsea walked into “The Minutemen House” where she noticed Juliet standing near the kitchen talking to Piper. 

She walked over to her best friend just as Piper walked away to go talk with Nora about something. 

“Hey Jules.” Chelsea greeted, 

Juliet looked at the Railroad Agent and smiled. “Oh, hey Chelsea.” She then noticed the look on Chelsea’s face. It was the look that she got when she was really focused on something. 

“...Thinking about something?” She asked her, 

Chelsea looked up abruptly with blushing cheeks. She nervously darted her eyes to the side and then looked back down at the floor. “Uh...no?” 

Juliet put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. 

The raven-haired woman looked back up at the dirty blonde. Juliet looked at her sincerely with a kind smile silently telling her that she could confide in her. 

Chelsea sighed. “It's really nothing, Jules. I'm just...a little worried.” She answered, 

“About what?” Juliet asked quirking an eyebrow, 

“I'm scared for Danse and I. You know how we’re a couple, right?” Chelsea asked, 

Juliet nodded. “Yeah?” 

Chelsea rubbed her temples. “Well, because we’re from enemy factions, we’re trying to keep our relationship a secret from my superiors...But we’re not sure how much longer this charade is going to last.” 

“But wait, Danse was exiled...wouldn't that mean he's no longer a threat?” 

“I'm not sure if it matters. They'll still think Danse is the enemy, member or not. He still practically bleeds Brotherhood. I don't know what we’re going to do.” Chelsea said sadly, she was now trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. 

Juliet felt bad. She wished that there was something that she could do to help her. She wrapped her arms around her second best friend and squeezed her tight. It was all that she could think of. 

“It’ll all be okay, Chels…” Juliet told her, 

Chelsea hugged her back. She was no longer afraid to let the tears escape her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. 

She gave a loud sniffle and rubbed her face. “Thanks Jules.” 

Juliet smiled. “Hey, what are best friends for, right?” She gave her a wink. Then walked off. 

Juliet walked outside and headed towards the women’s house. Nobody was home right now. She was actually glad about this. 

“Poor Chelsea...she's not the only one keeping secrets…” The dirty blonde looked down and put a hand over her belly. 

“No one else knows about you yet...not even your daddy…” She said sadly. 

It was only a few days ago that Juliet found out that she was pregnant. According to Curie, she was already a full month along. The baby was going to be due around sometime next November. She still couldn't believe that she and MacCready were going to have a baby together. She knew it was his, she hadn't been with anyone else in the “intimate” way since they became an item. She knew when it happened too. It was one night a few weeks before then. They kissed each other goodnight, and then one thing led to another. She felt terrible for letting it happen without thinking about the consequences. 

What made it sadder was that he still didn't know. Juliet hadn't told him yet. She was scared to. Sure they were now together as a couple, but were they really ready for kids? MacCready already had Duncan, and after Lucy died, Juliet helped a great deal in raising him…

...Maybe they were ready...

But given everything that was going on, was it a good time to tell him? No one else knew about this except for Curie, whom Juliet sworn to secrecy. 

Lately they hadn't had the best streak of luck. That assassin was still on the loose, MacCready was still recovering from his injury, Nora was growing more and more distant from Shaun, it was very obvious that they were inevitably going to have to fight “The Institute” soon…

...and now this. So much was happening at once. Juliet didn't know how much more everyone could take. After thinking for a bit, she decided that she would wait until things simmered down before she would tell him. She didn't want him worrying about her more. He was already worried about her enough as it is. 

**Xxx** Sole Survivor, 

We have not formally met. I am “The Assassin”. I have heard only great things about you. People say that you’re fixing the Commonwealth, that you’re it’s “Only hope of rebuilding a better future”...and I’m afraid that’s something that simply cannot happen. 

I advise that we meet face to face...Meet me in the catacombs of the Old North Church near “The Railroad’s” secret base...yes...I know about that too...I know about A LOT of things about you and those associated with you...

Also, when we meet, don’t bring your little “entourage”...I want our little discussion to be one-on-one. If you choose to ignore this request, there will be severe consequences.

 

See you soon, Sole Survivor  
—The Assassin

Nora looked up from the note in disbelief. She looked to the others, they were only staring back at her. 

“What are you going to do?” Albert asked her, 

Nora thought it over for a minute. Then she decided. “I’m going to meet with him.” 

“Blue, you can’t be serious!” Piper yelled, 

“He’ll kill you!” Albert continued, 

“What we saw in Vault 114 was horrific. I cannot let this happen to anymore innocent people. Maybe if we do meet, I can reason with him. It has to be done.” Nora retaliated, 

“Then we’re coming with you.” Albert said, 

“No you’re not. You heard it in the letter, if you guys come along there will be severe consequences. I can’t afford to lose any of you.” She replied, 

“If I may make a suggestion,” Deacon spoke up, he was standing near them and listened closely to the whole conversation. “He said, “Don’t bring your entourage”...he never said anything about “The Railroad” being involved…” 

The Sole Survivor’s eyes widened again. “No, that’s a definite no. You guys shouldn’t he involved either.” She told him, 

The master of disguises replied, “He’s going to encroach on our territory. In a manner of speaking, we ARE involved.” 

Nora thought about it and realized that Deacon was right. “Okay, contact Desdemona in the others...tell them to be prepared for a fight.” She instructed, 

Deacon nodded. “On it.” Then he rushed off, 

**Xxx**

“Chelsea, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Danse said, 

Both the ex-Paladin and the Railroad Agent we’re now in the catacombs of Old North Church. Chelsea was told be Deacon that she was needed back at headquarters for an urgent reason. Before she left, Danse stopped her to ask her where she was going. Chelsea explained that she was heading back to HQ, and that was when she decided to bring Danse along. She figured that now could be a good time to tell her colleagues about Danse and her. 

They approached the open wall that Nora managed to crack sometime back. 

Chelsea stopped and turned to Danse. “Hey, it will all be okay,” She told him, “I love you. They aren’t going to hurt you...I won’t let them…” 

Danse took a deep breath. “Very well, if you feel we must do this...then let’s.” 

They both headed into the front room of the Railroad HQ. Thankfully the open area was empty. Chelsea crept in looking around for any other agents and motioned for Danse to follow. The synth followed her and they went down the tunnel and down the stairs to the door of the crypt. 

The raven-haired woman stopped. She turned to him. “Are you ready?” She asked, 

Danse nodded. 

“Okay, I’ll go in first and talk to them, you come in when I say you can.” She told him, Chelsea then took a deep breath and opened the door to the HQ. Danse just stood there waiting. This was it, this was the event that would either keep Chelsea and him together, or for them to be torn apart. He felt his artificial heart beating super fast and sweat pour down his face. The synth could only hope that they would listen to reason. 

**Xxx**

“Shadow! You’re back!” Desdemona said happily, 

The Railroad Agent nervously entered further into the base. 

“Yes, I got the message from Deacon as well,” She replied, “Is he back yet?” 

The ginger nodded, “Yes, he’s in the back room making preparations for “The Assassin’s” visit.” 

“What about Nora? Is she here too?” Chelsea asked, 

“Whisper will be here soon. Anyways, it’s good that you’re here.” 

“Yes, we haven’t seen you in awhile.” Dr. Carrington spoke up, 

“Yeah, Chels! Where have ‘ya been!?” Tinker Tom asked curiously, 

“My fights with the synths haven’t been as fun lately.” Glory smiled, 

Chelsea laughed nervously as she rubbed her arm. She looked around the room at everyone. Even the lesser agents were looking at her. She knew she had to do it now. 

“Yeah well, I could have come back after completing my undercover mission…but I got a little...sidetracked…” She explained, 

Desdemona blinked. ““Sidetracked”? By what?” 

“...I...sort of met someone…” Chelsea answered, 

“Who?” Tinker Tom asked, 

Chelsea turned to the door. “Danse?” 

Then Danse opened the door clad in his Brotherhood uniform. He looked around the room at everyone. 

Their eyes were all widened in shock.


	46. Chapter 46: The Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A.N: Hey everyone! Happy holidays! After an eternity, I’m finally back with another chapter. I’ve been meaning to update more, but so much has been going on. I started college and I had honors classes as well as the hardest English class on the planet! But it’s the holidays and my finals are done and I don’t go back until mid January so now I have time to write more for you guys! Yay! 😜😍 Okay, so, in the last chapter, Nora is meeting with the Assassin in hopes of putting an end to his murderous acts. Also, Chelsea and Danse finally reveal their relationship to the Railroad...how will they react? Well, you’re going to find out in this exciting new chapter of: “Who Finds You When You’re Lost?”! Enjoy! 😉👍**

The entire underground base was silent. No one made a sound. No gasps, no whispers, not even an accidental cough. 

The entire crew of “The Railroad” only stared at Danse with wide eyes. Nobody knew exactly what to say. 

Danse could only stare back at them as well. They were already past the point of no return. All he could do was just wait and see what was going to happen next. 

Finally Dr. Carrington gained the courage to speak. 

“What is one of THEM doing here!?” He yelled, 

The synth’s eyes widened at that. 

“Yeah! It’s an intruder!” Another agent yelled, 

“Your kind isn’t welcome here, Brotherhood scum!” Glory jumped in, she lifted her minigun ready to blast Danse to smithereens if he dare take another step closer. 

Desdemona looked Danse dead in the eye and remained silent for a minute. Finally she spoke. 

“...Glory, prepare to fire.” 

The synth Railroad agent geared up her minigun ready to shoot him. 

Chelsea instantly panicked and stepped in front of Danse with her arms spread out to protect him. 

“No guys! Stop!” She yelled, “He’s not a threat!” 

“Don’t shoot. I come in peace.” Danse assured them, 

“Chelsea! Get out of the way! You’re gonna get shot!” Glory yelled over the loud whirring of her minigun, 

“No! Stop please! Just listen…” 

Everyone looked at her surprised. Desdemona waved her hand at Glory. “Cease fire.” She told her, 

The synth stopped her minigun and lowered it a bit narrowing her eyes at Danse in suspicion. 

Desdemona took a step toward the raven-haired woman. “Shadow, what on God’s once green Earth is going on here?” 

Chelsea continued to speak. “Everyone, just listen to me. Danse is not dangerous.” She explained, “Remember when High Rise and I transferred those synths from Bunker Hill? Well, Danse was the last Brotherhood soldier left standing in that battle. We duked it out pretty good until he eventually overpowered me. He was ordered to kill me, but he found that he couldn’t. So he let me go. Then later on, when you sent me on the undercover mission to infiltrate the Brotherhood, he was the only one there who knew my true identity and agreed to keep it secret allowing me to complete our mission.” 

All of the other Railroad Agents were either very confused or very taken aback by this. To their knowledge, Chelsea hated the Brotherhood and all of those associated with them. Why was she standing up for him? Heck, why was she even talking to him at all? It certainly was a surprising sight to see Chelsea stand up for this Brotherhood member. But no one could prepare them for what she did next. 

Chelsea turned to Danse and took both his hands in her own. “...He makes me feel safe and happy...He’s my best friend…” She said, 

That shocked them all. Chelsea Love was actually friends with a member of the Brotherhood. 

Then Carrington spoke up. “I can’t believe that you would even be associated with the enemy!” He yelled, he then pointed an accusing finger at her. “Traitor!” 

Chelsea let go of Danse’s hands and whirled around to face Carrington. “No! You don’t understand! Danse is no longer part of the Brotherhood.” She told him, 

Everyone in the base fell silent again. 

Tinker Tom blinked. “Say what?” 

Glory blinked too. “I agree with Tom...what?” 

The raven-haired woman sighed. “Danse is not with the Brotherhood anymore...they threw him out and pretended that he was killed. I’ve stuck by him ever since.” 

Danse looked at them sadly. “It’s true. They tossed me out like I was nothing.” 

Nobody said a word. 

Chelsea then took Danse’s hand in hers again and huddled up close to him pressing her forehead against his. “...I cared about him too much to leave him…” 

All of the members looked to their leader. Desdemona tried to process what Chelsea had just told her. After what felt like an eternity, Desdemona responded. 

“Chelsea, this fraternizing with the enemy simply cannot continue.” She said, 

“But Dez! I-!” Chelsea tried to speak but was cut off. 

“Whether or not he’s with them doesn’t matter. He is still part of the Brotherhood. His uniform alone shows that he still shows some ounce of loyalty to them.” She gestured to the orange and grey jumpsuit that Danse had on. 

“You are a member of the Railroad. The beliefs of our organizations are too different. We can never be allies with them. Only enemies.” Desdemona explained, 

“That’s not true! The Brotherhood has good people too! Honest people, loving people.” Chelsea retaliated, “The Institute is our one and only enemy. They enslave synths!” 

“The Brotherhood _destroys_ synths. They’re as much of an enemy as the Institute is. They are vicious cold-blooded murderers. You of all people should understand that, Chelsea.” Desdemona replied calmly trying to keep a cool head, 

“Don’t bring the death of my parents into this, Dez! The actual Brotherhood itself wasn’t involved in that attack. The Brotherhood soldiers that attacked my family were rogues. The fact that we rescued synths had nothing to do with it.” Chelsea said angrily, 

“Chelsea, I will not hear another word of this!” Desdemona said seriously, she was starting to lose her patience. She then looked to the two agents known as Drummer Boy and Boxer. 

“He knows too much...Take him away so that he can be executed.” 

Danse felt his artificial heart speed up and his synthetic blood ran cold. 

“What!? No!” Chelsea cried out, 

“Dez is right! He’s a threat!” One agent yelled, 

“You genocidal monster!” Another yelled, 

“No! Danse and the Brotherhood are not bad people.” Chelsea glared at everyone, 

“This argument is over!” Desdemona said sternly, 

“But you don’t understand-!” Chelsea yelled, but she was cut off again, 

“Enough Chelsea! We’re doing this for the safety of the Railroad. They brainwash the people to follow their beliefs. They’ve obviously gotten to you as well. I will not let you side with those..MONSTERS!” Desdemona yelled, 

Chelsea couldn’t take it anymore. She screamed from the top of her lungs. 

“BUT I LOVE HIM!!!”

The whole base fell quiet yet again. Every Agent was wide-eyed in shock. They were still as if Chelsea’s words turned them completely to stone. 

The raven-haired woman was now breathing heavily in and out from her outburst. 

Danse stood in shock right behind her. As scared as he was, it felt good to hear her say that. In all of his years, Danse never had somebody that cared about him before. Somebody that was concerned for him and wanted to protect him. Somebody that wanted to be with him…

...Somebody that loved him…

But even the warm feeling that was currently exploding in his chest could not mask the chilling fear that was still running through his body all the way to his core. 

Desdemona blinked twice and her surprised look slowly switched to anger. 

“Chelsea...Tell me that I didn’t hear what you just said.” She said lowly, 

“...It’s true...I love him.” Chelsea said quietly. 

“I knew it! I knew that she was sweet on him! I knew that after all that time around them, she would go soft! That’s why she almost didn’t give us the tape upon her return.” Carrington intervened, 

Danse looked to Chelsea surprised. “You almost didn’t give it to them?” He asked her, 

Chelsea smiled and placed a hand on his cheek stroking it with her thumb. “I couldn’t betray you and the others. But they made me. I’m sorry.” The two of them were lost in their own world again. They both forgot that they were in an underground base surrounded by angry Railroad agents. 

But then Desdemona stepped in. “Chelsea, this has to end.” 

Chelsea listened up and looked back at her leader. 

“Normally the punishment for any agent who has committed treason is to be dishonorably discharged…” Desdemona said seriously, 

Chelsea’s heart sank at that. She looked down at the floor in shame while Danse consoled her. 

“But, since you are one of our best agents, I am offering you a choice…” Desdemona finished, 

Chelsea was surprised by this. They were really offering her a choice? That wasn’t a common thing that people received in The Railroad. Instead of feeling happy, however, her heart sank even more. She knew she wouldn’t like where this was going. 

“You can stay with him and leave us forever...or you can stay with us and leave him forever...The choice is yours…” Desdemona said sternly, 

Chelsea didn’t know what to decide. This was a total lose-lose situation. Her position in the Railroad was her dream. Rescuing synths was her passion. She had worked so hard to get where she was, and she wanted to remain there with the Railroad because they were her family now. If she left Danse, she would be able to keep her job and her “family”. 

...But would it all be worth it if Danse was no longer in her life…?

She loved Danse to no end. In the short time they had known each other, he had become her whole world. Before they met, Chelsea wasn’t sure if she would love anything more than synths and rescuing them. But now, she finally found something that meant so much more. 

Him. 

He was her family now.

Desdemona encouraged her to speak. “What’s it going to be? Are you Chelsea Love A.K.A Shadow: the synth’s friend? Or are you Robyn Moore: the traitor?” 

Chelsea remained silent. She was putting off her answer. 

“...We’re waiting…” Desdemona said growing more impatient by the second, 

Suddenly the door to the base opened and in stepped Nora clad in her armor and bearing a combat shotgun ready for action. 

“I’m here, Desdemona.” She said, “Are we prepared for The Assassin’s arrival?” She was smiling for today they were going to defeat the mysterious murderer and find out his true identity. 

But then she noticed that the rest of the agents were speechless and Danse stood there with Chelsea. They both looked terrified. 

Nora knew what was going on. 

“...Oh...Uh..I’m sorry. Did I come at a bad time?” She asked nervously rubbing the back of her neck, 

“No, Whisper. You’re just in time.” Desdemona beamed at her other best agent, she then looked to everyone else. 

“Prepare to get into positions everyone!” She ordered to everyone else in the room, 

Every agent scrambled around the base grabbing everything they needed. Nora helped some to gather their weapons and armor so they could be prepped for the fight. 

Amidst all the ruckus, Desdemona approached Chelsea and Danse. 

Her voice was stern and her look was cold and expressionless. 

“Get into position, Shadow. Later on you can make your decision. But right now, we need you out there…The enemy has to stay here though.” 

Chelsea nodded sadly obeying her boss’s orders. But she whirled around and kissed Danse on the lips right in front of her leader. 

Dez was taken aback by the sight of this happening, but she still wasn’t happy about it. 

“Stay safe.” Danse told her,

“I will. I promise.” She whispered to him, 

“I love you, Chelsea.” Danse said sounding like he was about to cry, 

Chelsea was on the verge of tears herself. “I love you too.” She backed up slowly and gave Danse one last smile before turning and making a beeline for her locker where she stashed her best weapons. 

Desdemona watched Chelsea hurry off. Then she looked to Danse. The synth flashed a cheesy smile at her. 

Desdemona’s hard expression didn’t change one bit. “I don’t know what your game is, Brotherhood scum. But I will NOT let you turn my one of my best agents over to the dark side.” She said harshly, 

Danse decided that he wasn’t going to be intimidated by Desdemona. Being afraid had never gotten him anywhere in the world before, and it wasn’t going to get him anywhere now. 

He gave her a serious and slightly agitated look. 

“There is no game. I love Chelsea. I would never do anything to hurt her.” He growled, 

Desdemona scoffed. “You synth slaughterers are incapable of loving. I know she’ll make the right choice in the end. This organization means more to her than anything else. Even more than you.” 

Danse didn’t say anything else. He just stared her dead in the eyes. 

Desdemona then turned and went off to lead the other agents into battle. 

**Xxx**

The entire organization of “The Railroad” traveled through the dark catacombs under the old church. Nora was leading the way with Desdemona and Deacon leading the way. As they got deeper and deeper into the catacombs, their surroundings got darker and damper. 

“Man, how much longer do we have to keep walking!? My boots are getting soaked down here!” Tinker Tom complained, 

“Shut up, Tom!” Glory snapped slapping the back of his head, 

Eventually they reached the old wooden doorway to the large cellar that resided under the church. This was where they were meeting the assassin. 

It all came down to this. 

Nora stopped and turned to her “army”. 

“Okay guys, this is it. After this battle, we will finally know the truth. Now, he said that he wanted to talk to me face-to-face. I have a feeling that he knows that I brought all of you with me. So it’s most likely that he has an entourage of his own with him. So don’t show yourselves unless I tell you to do so...Is that understood?” She told them all, 

They all nodded. 

Desdemona smiled at her. “You’ve got it, “Whisper”.” 

“Yeah. Don’t worry, Death Bunny. We’ve got your back.” Deacon winked, 

Nora beamed at everyone in the Railroad. In the short time that Nora has known them, they were already like family to her. In fact, everyone that she’s associated with so far in her journey she has considered her family. In the beginning she was alone, alone and scared because her family had been torn apart. But now, after being in this new world for awhile, meeting everyone and getting to know them, Nora realized that they were all her family. 

...And that’s why she was doing this...taking this risk...it was to save everyone in the Commonwealth…

...Her new “family”...

Nora gave them a nod then turned and opened the door to the old boiler room. The room was large and spacious. After years of enduring the damage of nuclear fallout and lack of maintenance, the whole place looked like it was about to go down. 

Nora stepped further into the room. Her feet sloshed through the disgusting sludge-filled water with every step. She looked around the dimly lit room wondering where the assassin was. 

“...I’m here...What do you want!?” She called out. 

A moment went by. No response. 

But then…

“Yoo-hoo! Up here!” A male voice called out tauntingly, 

Nora looked up to see the famed assassin, assault gas mask and all, chilling out above her on the old rafters. 

He stood up. “Well well well...Lookie-lookie who we have here! Nora Taylor! The famed “Soul Survivor”...I’ve been waiting for you…” 

He then made an impressive leap off the rafters landing not too far away from her without a scratch. 

Nora lifted her combat shotgun and aimed it at his chest. If he was going to try anything, she didn’t want to hesitate on shooting. 

She was afraid. She was very VERY afraid. If she was still the same person that she was pre-war, she would have totally peed her pants. 

But she wasn’t that person anymore. She wasn’t going to let him terrify her. 

She put on a firm face. “Yeah...it’s me...what do you want with me?” She asked him, 

“Like I said in my note, I just want to talk to you…” He approached her and began to circle her like how a vulture circles it’s prey. 

“I know what you’re thinking: “Did the Institute send me?”...Well, to answer your question: Yes. I do work for them.” The assassin answered, 

Nora just stood there stone-faced. She only moved her eyes to look at the assassin as he moved. 

“I knew that they would send you out to take and kill innocent people. That’s all you monsters do...You take and you kill…” She hissed, 

Finally he stopped walking in a circle and just stopped in front of her. 

“Such hostility...Now, it is our knowledge that you have been building up alliances with every faction in the Commonwealth…” He said, 

Nora hesitated but nodded. “That’s correct.” 

“...And you have been doing things with each faction to improve the Commonwealth…” He continued, 

Nora replied, “Right again.” 

“And I’m afraid that just can’t happen…” The assassin said, “See, WE’RE humanity’s best hope for survival...This whole radioactive hell has been nothing but cruel to you since you’ve woken from cryo sleep...Things have happened to you...Terrible things…” 

The assassin continued to speak about how horrible life in the Commonwealth could be. Nora tried her hardest to not let his words get to her. She had to stay strong. 

“...Nora...Let me ask you something? And I need a completely honest answer...Would you like to have your old Commonwealth back? Your home? Your family? Everything?” He asked her, 

Nora’s eyes widened at that but she kept her grip. 

“There’s no going back. Only going forward.” She said seriously, 

“But with our help, you could have your old life back. It would be as if nothing’s changed.” The Assassin said, 

“Reversing centuries of war and damnation is impossible.” Nora said, “Besides, why should I believe anything you say? You’ve murdered innocent people to fulfill the Institute’s sick needs.” 

“You see, Nora. You may have found your way into the Institute, and convinced Father that you would be a great asset to us, but there are still things about the Institute that you do not quite fully understand. We have brilliant minds and technological advancements that can do the impossible, perform many miracles…” 

Nora gave him a look. 

“Any other side you join will only use force to obtain control...We plan to take control of the Commonwealth by helping them. Solving all of their problems with technology and knowledge so we can all work together to make the Commonwealth rise from the centuries of ash and rubble, and finally be reborn!” 

Nora was silent for a moment. She was unsure of what to say. Finally she thought of a response. 

“Say that I do believe you...what will happen if I do decide to side with you guys? What’s your endgame?” 

“Our endgame is nothing that we haven’t already told you. We want to help the Commonwealth. In recent years this place has gone to sh*t and we’re looking to fix it.” He explained to her, 

Finally Nora backed away angrily. She held her shotgun up aiming it at the Assassin’s chest. 

“You’re lying. You don’t want control the Commonwealth with care, you want to control them with fear.” She said, 

The Assassin shrugged his shoulders. “I can neither confirm or deny this.” 

“Shaun has already told me his plan.” He wants to replace every citizen in the Commonwealth with a synth double. It’s messed up.” Nora said, “Synths being free is one thing, but having them take on the persona of someone who has a life and family is an entirely different ballgame. I refuse to comply with these actions.” She said sternly, “I don’t care what it takes, but I will stop you. All of you.” 

The Assassin walked up closer to her until their faces were only a centimeter apart. Even though she couldn’t see his face, Nora knew he was angry. 

He grabbed her by the collar of her vault jumpsuit. 

“...You and what army?” He scoffed, 

“How about them?” She asked gesturing towards the door, Suddenly all the members of the Railroad came charging into the room. 

They quickly seized him. Nora then gave him a devious smile. Two of the group’s Stronger agents pinned his arms behind his back as he struggled to break free but to no avail. 

Deacon stepped forward as well. “Mind if we cut in?” He said in a cocky voice, 

Nora got really close to him. Her devious smile was still on her face. 

“Now, let’s see who’s under the mask. It’s the end of the road, “Assassin”.” She mocked him, 

Suddenly the Assassin started laughing. No one understood why. 

“Oh Nora, Nora, Nora.” He clicked his tongue. “I knew that you would somehow bring backup. Well, I brought back up as well. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you double-crossed me, so now I’m double-crossing you…” 

Just then out of the blue, a whole army of Gen 1 synths came marching in laser pistols at the ready. 

Nora’s heart skipped a beat the moment that she saw all of the synths come out. 

The other agents were freaked out as well. 

“Gah! It’s Gen 1s! What do we do!? What do we do!?” Tom screamed acting all hysterical, 

Glory punched him in the arm which made him stop his panicking. 

“Shut up, Tom! For god sakes! Grow a pair and be a man!” She yelled, 

The Assassin chuckled again. “This isn’t the end, Nora. Why, we’re only just beginning…”

Nora blinked once in confusion. That voice...it sounded...familiar. 

But she didn’t have time to process this, however, for the Assassin threw down a smoke bomb and overpowered the Railroad agents to make his daring escape. 

Nora and the agents looked around in a frenzy but then heard a cat whistle. 

“Up here!” A familiar voice taunted them, 

They all looked up to see the Assassin once again chilling out on the rafters. 

“Thanks for the talk. See y’all later!” He said, “oh wait, maybe I won’t. Synths.” 

All of the Gen 1s looked up at him for orders. 

“Initiate combat mode.” He said, then he waved. “Bye bye.” Then he flew out through a vent in the ceiling. 

Everyone looked around in fear. Then one of the synths spoke. 

“Detecting a hostile threat. By authorization of the Institute, you must be eliminated.” 

Then it happened. 

The synths attacked. 

What was supposed to be a simple talk resulted in a full on shootout between the Railroad and the Institute. 

The synths shot at the members of the Railroad while the Railroad agents shot back at the synths. Some synths were shocking people with shock batons while others were shooting their opponents. Bullets and fusion cells flew through the air. Screams were heard from the humans and buzzes were heard from the machines. 

The battle was getting bloodier. More and more Railroad agents were dropping by the instant. Glory and Boxer fought side-by-side. Boxer used her fists as Glory’s minigun mowed them all down. 

Tom was still panicking at first. But then he got an idea. He whipped out his newest creation. 

The Railway Rifle. 

He loaded some railroad spikes into the gun and proceeded to shoot down some oncoming synths. His fear was completely gone. 

He laughed. “Haha! Take that you Institute bastards!” 

Chelsea fired a few bullets of her submachine gun through the air hoping it would hit some the synths. She made an impressive roll across the ground and shot at a few of the synths that were charging at her. It pained her to do this, but she had to defend herself. 

She was so lost in the fight, however, that she didn’t notice one synth sneaking up behind her with a shock baton. 

Nora shot one synth’s head clean off and then looked over noticing the synth about to strike. 

“Chelsea look out!” She yelled out to her, 

Chelsea whirled to face the enemy. “Huh-?” Was all she got out before she was struck in the face with the baton. The nightstick hit her just below her left eye. The raven-haired woman felt painful electrical sparks zoom throughout her whole face and body. It felt is if she were being struck by lightning or being shocked to death in an electric chair. She could’ve sworn that she felt her heart actually stop for a second. She fell to the ground weakly trying to stay awake. But then she blacked out. 

“Oh no!” Glory yelled, 

“Chelsea!” Deacon yelled out, 

But then in the ruckus they saw someone charging in at full speed shooting down synths with his laser rifle. Even though it was all a blur, everyone recognized the orange and grey jumpsuit. 

It was Danse. 

He shot down a majority of the remaining synths with no problem. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t believe that he was actually helping these people. The people that wanted him dead. Danse figured that these must’ve been the same feelings that Chelsea felt when she was sent on her undercover mission. But he knew that this was Chelsea would want him to do. He also knew that if he was going to change their opinion of him, he needed to prove that he was now on their side. 

Danse looked to some of the other agents who were now staring. 

“Come on! We have to get them all if we’re going to make it out of here!” He yelled, 

The Railroad agents decided to not question it further and proceeded to help him shoot the rest of the synths down. While this was happening, Nora, Deacon, Glory, Tom, and Desdemona all crowded around Chelsea who still laid motionless face-up in the murky water. 

Danse shot down the last synth. He looked to the other agents. “Good work. I think that was the last of them.” He complimented them, 

The agents gave him a nod back. Some of the agents even smiled at him. 

But the brief moment of relief ended when they all noticed the small crowd forming not too far away from them. 

Danse and the other agents ran over to see what the problem was. Nora and the others looked up and noticed them. 

Nora looked like she was about to cry. 

“Nora? What’s wrong?” Danse asked her, 

The crowd parted slightly to reveal Chelsea lying there still. 

Danse felt his artificial heart stop. Tears instantly began to form in his eyes as he got down on his knees. 

Chelsea looked horrible. She was unconscious and her hair, body, and clothes soaked from the water. To top it all off, there was a red medium sized zig-zag shaped burn just beneath her left eye. 

“Chelsea! No!” He yelled out, he scooped her up in his arms and held her close. The tears that were in his eyes spilled down his cheeks in rivers. For the first time since Cutler died…

...Danse was crying…

He looked up at everyone. “We..We need to help her! Please!” 

No one knew what to say for a moment. Finally Dr. Carrington spoke to him surprisingly with understanding. 

“Let’s get her back to the base. I’ll try to fix her up.” He said, 

**Xxx**

Everybody cleared out and headed back to the Railroad base. Danse carried Chelsea all the way back not wanting to let her go for a second. 

They finally made it back to the base. Dr. Carrington instructed Danse to lay Chelsea on her mattress in the base. Danse obeyed and laid her down gently making sure to not hurt her. 

Dr. Carrington proceeded to look her over. 

“Is she going to be okay?” Nora asked her, 

“She was electrocuted by a shock baton. I need time to examine her and make sure that she’s okay.” Carrington replied. Even though he and Chelsea never really got along, he did care about her. He cared about all of the agents. That one of the reasons why he was Dez’s number two. 

“Please do anything to save her.” Danse spoke up, even though he was now speaking in a more calm and composed manner, it was still very obvious that he was worried sick about Chelsea’s well-being. 

Dr. Carrington sighed. He couldn’t believe he was about to do this. 

He reached out and put a hand on Danse’s shoulder. 

“...I’ll try…” 

Dr. Carrington made everyone leave the room so that he could try and help Chelsea. Everyone stayed out in the open area in front of the base waiting for any updates on Chelsea’s condition. 

Nora, Danse, Dez, Deacon, and Glory waited around with a few of the other agents. Though some like Tom felt uneasy and needed to go outside the church for some air. 

Nora and Danse sat on the stone steps in silence, Desdemona just looked around trying to maintain a brave face, Deacon just leaned up against the wall avoiding eye-contact with everyone else, while Glory just sat there wide-eyed and silent. She honestly looked like she was going to be sick as well. 

Back in the base, Dr. Carrington worked on Chelsea looking her over from top to bottom. Checking her pulse, her heartbeat, making sure that there were no extra traumatic injuries on her. Everything. 

Out of all the worried agents that were waiting for the news about Chelsea, Danse was the most concerned. 

He wanted her to wake up. He wanted to see those beautiful chocolate brown eyes open up. He wanted to be able to kiss those soft pale lips again. To hold her in his arms and feel her warmth. 

He wanted her to survive this…

...He couldn’t lose her. 

Nora was nervously shaking her leg and tapping her fingers against the stone step that she and Danse were sitting upon. It was a habit that she hated, but she did it every time she was nervous about something. 

She looked over at Danse who was lost in thought. She gently shook his shoulder. 

“Hey, she’s going to be alright. She’s strong. You and I both know she will make it.” She assured him, 

Danse smiled weakly but instantly frowned again. “...I hope so, Nora. I just...I just can’t bear the thought of losing her.” 

“...I know how you feel…” Nora replied sadly, 

Desdemona looked at Danse with surprise in her eyes. She thought that his love for her was all a sham, but now that Chelsea was in mortal danger, his love for her really showed. 

“...Maybe He really does love her…” She muttered to herself, 

It was surprising to see that an ex-member of the Brotherhood actually loved a Railroad agent, and that Chelsea actually loved him in return. Perhaps times were changing. 

Another hour went by that felt like an eternity when Dr. Carrington came out of the base. 

Everyone stood up suddenly. 

“Carrington. Chelsea. Is she okay?” Glory asked, 

He smiled. “She’s just fine.” 

With those words said, the whole room was filled with cheers and shouts of joy. Deacon pumped his fist in the air whooping, Glory shrieked in happiness, and Danse and Nora shared a hug. 

Danse then stepped forward. “Can I see her first?”

Carrington gave the ex-Brotherhood Paladin a serious and uneasy look. He looked around at the other agents hoping to get their reactions. None of them wanted to respond. 

Finally Carrington looked to Desdemona. Suddenly all eyes were on the Railroad leader. 

Her blank expression didn’t change. But she replied,

“Let him see her.” 

Everyone was surprised at her response. Even Danse himself. 

“...I don’t understand…” He said confused, 

Desdemona walked up to Danse. She waited a second before speaking again. 

“...Go on…Shadow will be happy to see you...”

Danse was still in disbelief. But he hesitantly walked into the base with Dr. Carrington. 

They approached Chelsea’s mattress. She was still unconscious but her breathing had returned to normal. 

“It was really nothing all that serious. Just a minor electrocution. I cleaned her up and treated the burn. Although I’m afraid that it will mostly likely scar permanently.” He explained, 

Danse’s heart sunk at that. He looked to Chelsea’s face. The burn was currently patched up with a small white square bandage. He felt horrible that this happened to Chelsea. He should’ve been there to protect her, to keep her safe. 

“She should wake up any second now.” Carrington told him, he walked out of the base so that Danse and Chelsea oils be alone. 

Danse just stayed at Chelsea’s bedside. He ran a hand through her smooth raven hair. After a minute, he leaned in and planted a soft kiss to her lips. 

“Don’t worry, Chels. I’m right here.” He told her, 

Chelsea began to stir some. Slowly her eyelids fluttered open. Her chocolate brown eyes were hazy, but it didn’t take long to recognize the face in front of her. 

She smiled weakly. “Danse…”

He kissed her forehead. “Shh...Save your strength.” He told her, 

The Railroad agent groaned as she put a hand to her head. Then she touched the bandage on her face. 

“What happened?” She asked, 

“You got hurt, Chels. A Gen 1 synth struck you with his shock baton. You were electrocuted. We ended up bringing you back to the base.” Danse explained,

Chelsea propped herself on her elbow and looked around the base noticing that it was empty. 

“Where is everyone?” She asked him, 

“Waiting outside. Carrington patched you up and you leader let me see you first.” Danse said, 

“Dez actually let you in to see me?” Chelsea said, her eyes now slightly wide with disbelief, 

“I know. Crazy right?” Danse chuckled, Chelsea laughed as well. Seeing her smile made Danse sad again. He thought that he would never see that smile again. 

“Aww dammit, Chels! I thought I lost you forever!” He cried, “When I saw you there on the ground motionless, I felt my whole world fall apart. I’m so glad that you’re alright!” 

Chelsea then cupped Danse’s chin in her hand. She lifted his head and surprised him with a passionate kiss on the lips. 

Danse’s eyes widened in shock. Chelsea pulled away smiling. “I love you, Danse. You’ll never lose me.” She then kissed him again, Danse kissed back this time. He was so relieved that Chelsea was going to be okay. 

The rest of the Railroad members crept into the base one by one. First it was Nora followed by Desdemona followed by Deacon. They all noticed Danse and Chelsea still having their little moment. 

Desdemona cleared her throat. This got their attention. 

She only looked at Danse. Her look was serious. 

Chelsea was still groggy, all she could do was just lay there on her mattress worried about what her leader was going to to do to him. 

Then Desdemona spoke. 

“I have something to say and I’m afraid it isn’t easy…” She said, 

All eyes were on her awaiting what she was going to say next. 

“I must really be stuck in the past,” she said laughing a little, “Because back in my day, a member from some organization like the Brotherhood would never had risked his own neck to save people like us. You actually really helped us out back there...Maybe Chelsea was right. Maybe you weren’t the person we thought you were…”

Danse just stood there in disbelief. Was she accepting him? 

Chelsea could only smile. This suddenly made her feel a lot better. 

“...I’m still not entirely sure that I understand how this could be, but, since you two obviously belong together, and that you were kicked out of your organization, and since you show promise to ours, we will let you stick around…” Desdemona said ending her sentence with a small smile, 

Danse and Chelsea both laughed in joy and embraced each other tightly. They did it. They managed to convince them to let them stay together! 

“But until we can fully trust you, we will be keeping you under close surveillance.” Dr. Carrington added, 

“Fair enough.” Danse smiled, he didn’t care if they were still suspicious of him or not, he still had Chelsea. That was all that mattered to him.


End file.
